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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: dip · stock · land · rash · clip · scale · current · court

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. scale — in music
  4. rash — hasty
  5. land — a country
  6. stock — goods
  7. court — for sport
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. court — of a king
  10. dip — to sink
  11. current — of water
  12. clip — for paper
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. stock — shares
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. court — of law
  19. scale — size or range
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. clip — a video
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. rash — a series
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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