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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hand — help
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. last — finally
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. court — of law
  7. ball — a great time
  8. last — to go on
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. season — in sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. season — of the year
  18. last — final
  19. court — of a king
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — in cards
  23. court — for sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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