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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. court — for sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. season — of the year
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. season — in sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rest — a break
  24. chair — to sit on

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