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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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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 · ground · wind · face · stand · court · bay · straw

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — the earth
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. court — for sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. court — of a king
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stand — to bear
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. court — of law
  20. ground — crushed
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — a video
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wind — moving air

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