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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. game — wild animals
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. sharp — clever
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — for sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. game — a match
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. court — of a king
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — employees
  20. plane — a tool
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. plane — in geometry

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