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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: ground · court · clip · rest · tube · pit · stem · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rest — what's left
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. net — in sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. net — after costs
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of a king
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. ground — crushed
  11. court — for sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. clip — for paper
  14. tube — a container
  15. clip — a video
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tube — the underground
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rest — a break
  21. pit — in a race
  22. court — of law
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rest — what's left

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