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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 · mark · arm · current · track · clip · land · stem

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. land — a country
  3. track — a path
  4. current — happening now
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. track — a song
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — a video
  14. mark — a grade
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — to cut
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. current — electric
  22. current — of water
  23. court — for sport
  24. track — to keep track

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