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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: court · season · pitch · date · bear · tear · board · clip

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. court — for sport
  6. board — a committee
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bear — the animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. court — of law
  20. board — to get on
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of a king
  24. season — in sport

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