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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: court · clip · mouse · trunk · season · bear · stem · mug

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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. bear — to put up with
  4. mug — a face
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. court — of law
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mug — a cup
  13. court — of a king
  14. clip — a video
  15. mug — to rob
  16. season — of the year
  17. court — for sport
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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