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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: court · lean · spring · pitch · game · clip · pound · board

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. game — a match
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — of law
  7. lean — thin
  8. court — of a king
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. game — wild animals
  12. court — for sport
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pitch — completely
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. spring — the season
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. board — a committee
  24. lean — to rest against

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