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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. object — a thing
  3. court — of a king
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. court — for sport
  7. object — to protest
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. last — finally
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stock — shares
  12. last — final
  13. stock — goods
  14. court — of law
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bass — low music
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — to go on
  24. object — an aim

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