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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · fan · clip · stock · chair · degree

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. stock — shares
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. fan — a supporter

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