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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: mate · stock · drill · court · wind · clip · rule · chip

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rule — government
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. drill — the tool
  5. stock — goods
  6. mate — a friend
  7. clip — a video
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. court — for sport
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — of law
  15. stock — shares
  16. drill — army training
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chip — for betting
  24. court — of a king

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