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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. shower — to wash
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. chair — a leader
  8. court — for sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. fine — all right
  18. season — of the year
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. shower — rain
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — high quality

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