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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. court — of law
  3. mine — for digging
  4. season — in sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cell — in biology
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. court — of a king
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. season — of the year
  14. court — for sport
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fall — the season
  18. key — the most important part
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. patient — a sick person

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