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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 120 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. court — of a king
  4. stock — goods
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pop — music
  9. kid — child
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pop — soda
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. court — of law
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bulb — for light
  21. season — of the year
  22. clip — a video
  23. pop — to visit
  24. clip — for paper

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