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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: fall · season · board · clip · mug · chest · court · straw

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. court — of law
  4. season — in sport
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. court — for sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — a box
  11. court — of a king
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — to cut
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — to rob
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mug — a cup
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a committee
  23. chest — of your body
  24. straw — a straw man

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