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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stock — shares
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. drill — the tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. fine — all right
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — for sport
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. fine — high quality
  12. scale — in music
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. stock — goods
  15. court — of law
  16. scale — size or range
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. drill — army training
  21. clip — to cut
  22. drill — a practice
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. stock — a soup base

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