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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. season — of the year
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bear — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. season — in sport
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — the animal
  14. scale — size or range
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. court — of a king
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. court — of law
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. coach — a trainer

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