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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. clip — a video
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rash — hasty
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. season — in sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. court — of a king
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — rain
  14. rash — a series
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. court — of law
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. clip — to cut
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. fine — all right
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cabinet — ministers

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