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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 are we going to ________________?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. land — ground
  7. court — for sport
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — a video
  10. pop — soda
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. land — a country
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. clip — to cut
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stock — goods
  20. pop — to visit
  21. spring — of water
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pop — music
  24. stock — shares

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