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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: spring · clip · mark · march · board · straw · stand · foot

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. march — the month
  3. stand — to bear
  4. mark — a grade
  5. foot — a measure
  6. board — a committee
  7. clip — to cut
  8. board — to get on
  9. march — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. clip — for paper
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. march — the month
  20. mark — a trace
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. clip — a video
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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