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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: cabinet · capital · clip · dip · saw · mate · court · stock

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stock — shares
  5. mate — a friend
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — goods
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. clip — a video
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — for sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — money

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