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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 116 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: clip · chair · season · stand · wave · mate · march · trunk

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. march — the month
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. march — the month
  8. stand — to bear
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. mate — a friend
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. season — in sport
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. season — of the year
  20. chair — a leader
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. march — music
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. season — to add flavour

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