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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: court · stock · object · board · clip · bulb · net · perch

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. clip — a video
  3. object — to protest
  4. net — in sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. board — to get on
  8. court — for sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. board — a committee
  11. perch — the fish
  12. net — after costs
  13. stock — shares
  14. net — for catching
  15. stock — goods
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. court — of law
  19. object — an aim
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. object — a thing
  22. court — of a king
  23. bulb — for light
  24. clip — for paper

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