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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. court — of law
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. field — farmland
  5. mate — a friend
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. court — for sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — for dancing
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — a video
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. field — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stock — goods
  17. mate — to breed
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stock — shares
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com