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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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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: court · mine · fine · arm · stock · wave · clip · can

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — for paper
  3. court — of law
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mine — for digging
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. stock — shares
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. stock — goods
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. can — a tin
  17. clip — a video
  18. fine — all right
  19. court — of a king
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. court — for sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. can — a tin

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