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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: season · clip · leaves · straw · toast · stock · court · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — for paper
  4. court — of a king
  5. cue — a hint
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stock — shares
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cue — a signal
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. season — of the year
  21. stock — goods
  22. season — in sport
  23. toast — bread
  24. straw — dry grass

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