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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: stock · court · leaves · land · bass · current · saw · clip

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. court — of law
  4. stock — shares
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — a country
  7. clip — a video
  8. current — of water
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. land — ground
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. clip — for paper
  15. current — happening now
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bass — low music
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. land — to come down
  21. current — electric
  22. bass — the fish
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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