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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hand — in cards
  5. band — a music group
  6. land — ground
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rash — a series
  11. court — of a king
  12. band — a ring
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. season — of the year
  16. court — of law
  17. land — a country
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. land — to come down
  20. hand — help
  21. court — for sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rash — hasty

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