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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: mark · fork · clip · court · stock · spell · pit · straw

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stock — shares
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — a grade
  9. stock — goods
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. clip — a video
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spell — magic
  14. fork — in a road
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pit — in a race
  18. spell — letters
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. clip — for paper
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pit — a hole

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