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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: rash · leaves · clip · court · jam · shower · season · foot

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — in sport
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. clip — a video
  15. rash — hasty
  16. court — for sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. shower — rain
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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