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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · cell · court · rest · mark · game · clip · stock

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. clip — to cut
  2. object — an aim
  3. cell — a phone
  4. object — a thing
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rest — what's left
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stock — shares
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a match
  20. mark — a grade
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stock — goods
  23. object — to protest
  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