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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: stock · court · bear · root · wound · clip · stand · land

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — for paper
  3. root — the cause
  4. land — a country
  5. bear — the animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. clip — a video
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stock — goods
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bear — the animal
  16. court — of law
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — of a plant
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stock — shares
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. wound — an injury

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