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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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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. season — of the year
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mine — for digging
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rest — a break
  18. court — of law
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. season — in sport
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — an explosive

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