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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.

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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: last · leaves · track · sharp · chair · wound · clip · court

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. track — a path
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. last — to go on
  9. track — a song
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. sharp — clever
  13. court — of law
  14. last — finally
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of a king
  18. clip — to cut
  19. track — to keep track
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — for sport
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. last — final

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