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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: clip · arm · stand · court · spring · deal

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. deal — to handle
  4. spring — the season
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. court — for sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. spring — a coil
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — a video
  18. 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