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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: clip · court · mine · spring · stock · arm · saw · mark

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. clip — for paper
  4. court — of a king
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. court — of law
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stock — shares
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. stock — goods
  17. court — for sport
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mine — for digging
  24. clip — to cut

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