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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 · mug · can · wind · jam · clip · mark · court

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mug — a cup
  4. can — a tin
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — a video
  8. court — of a king
  9. can — a tin
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — goods
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. court — for sport
  15. mug — a face
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wind — moving air
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mark — a grade
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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