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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. suit — clothes
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chest — a box
  13. fall — to drop
  14. suit — to fit
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fall — the season
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — of a king
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. court — of law
  21. suit — in cards
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — a video

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