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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: last · foot · net · clip · court · board · firm · march

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. foot — a measure
  3. court — of a king
  4. net — in sport
  5. firm — decided
  6. board — a committee
  7. firm — a company
  8. march — the month
  9. last — to go on
  10. firm — steady
  11. court — of law
  12. clip — a video
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. net — for catching
  15. last — finally
  16. march — music
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. net — after costs
  22. court — for sport
  23. board — to get on
  24. foot — the bottom

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