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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 120 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: ground · firm · clip · face · racket · straw · land · season

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. land — ground
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. land — a country
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. firm — decided
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ground — crushed
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. season — in sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — to come down
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  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