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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. net — after costs
  3. bass — the fish
  4. court — of law
  5. stock — shares
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. mate — a partner
  8. court — for sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. net — for catching
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chair — a leader
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. clip — a video
  21. bass — low music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mate — to breed
  24. net — in sport

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