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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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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: clip · bay · stem · deal · spell · court

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. court — of a king
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. spell — magic
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. clip — for paper
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. court — for sport
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. stem — to come from
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. deal — to handle

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