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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — a video
  3. scale — size or range
  4. clip — for paper
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. row — a line
  9. craft — a skill
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. current — electric
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. current — happening now
  14. row — to paddle
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. board — to get on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. current — of water
  20. court — of law
  21. board — a committee
  22. court — for sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. craft — boats

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