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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · foot · ground · straw · mine · clip · chair · board

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. clip — to cut
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. board — to get on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ground — the earth
  14. board — a committee
  15. ground — crushed
  16. foot — a measure
  17. chair — a leader
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — of the year
  20. ground — a position
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — a video
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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