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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.

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: wax · clip · fork · stock · court · straw · mate · chair

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mate — to breed
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. stock — goods
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. court — of law
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. mate — a partner
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stock — shares
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wax — to grow

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