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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bark — to shout
  3. court — of law
  4. season — of the year
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. clip — a video
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stand — to bear
  12. craft — a skill
  13. court — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. season — in sport
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. craft — boats
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. court — of a king
  24. stand — on your feet

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