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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. court — of a king
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. season — in sport
  10. rush — hurry
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cell — a phone
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. season — of the year
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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