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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — money
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ball — a great time
  5. row — a line
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rest — a break
  8. ball — a dance
  9. season — in sport
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — a city
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rest — what's left

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