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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: plane · lash · leaves · stock · jam · sharp · clip · court

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. court — of a king
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. stock — goods
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. court — for sport
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of law
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. sharp — clever
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. plane — a tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. clip — to cut
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. stock — shares

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