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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 · mark · court · capital · bass · chair · clip · stem

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. court — of law
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. court — for sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bass — low music
  16. capital — money
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. capital — a city
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. mark — a trace

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