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

Word bank: court · stem · bowl · clip · pass · race

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. court — of a king
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. clip — a video
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. court — for sport
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. clip — for paper
  17. court — of law
  18. pass — a permit

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