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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: clip · court · jam · key · rule · chip · stock · pitcher

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stock — goods
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. chip — to eat
  10. rule — a law
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stock — shares
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. court — of a king
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — government
  23. court — for sport
  24. chip — for betting

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