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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · pit · wake · straw · sharp · trunk · chair · season

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. clip — a video
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pit — a hole
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pit — in a race
  8. season — in sport
  9. wake — a trail
  10. chair — a leader
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. clip — for paper
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chair — to sit on
  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