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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: cabinet · field · saw · lash · court · trunk · clip · coach

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. saw — the tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. court — of law
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. field — farmland
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. clip — to cut
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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