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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. march — the month
  3. court — of a king
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. season — of the year
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. clip — a video
  10. face — to point toward
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. season — in sport
  13. face — part of the head
  14. march — music
  15. court — of law
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. march — the month
  18. court — for sport
  19. face — to confront
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stand — to bear

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