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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — final
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. court — of law
  12. last — to go on
  13. cold — an illness
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bass — low music
  16. last — finally
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. court — for sport
  24. pound — a weight

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