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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stand · fork · scale · clip · court · mug · ball · race

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ball — a great time
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. court — for sport
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stand — to bear
  8. scale — in music
  9. mug — a cup
  10. clip — to cut
  11. race — humankind
  12. court — of law
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. race — a contest
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mug — to rob
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mug — a face
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. clip — a video
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ball — a dance
  24. court — of a king

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