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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
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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: jam · spring · chair · kick · clip · court · content · board

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. board — a committee
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of law
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. court — for sport
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. spring — a coil
  13. kick — in football
  14. court — of a king
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chair — a leader
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — of water
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — the amount
  23. spring — the season
  24. content — happy

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