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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. face — part of the head
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — a leader
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. kick — in football
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. court — of law
  15. season — in sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. face — to confront
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. season — of the year
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. court — for sport
  22. fork — in a road
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. face — to point toward

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