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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stem — to come from
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. court — for sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. season — in sport
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. court — of a king
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. court — of law
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rash — on the skin

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