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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. court — of a king
  5. staff — a stick
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — rain
  8. staff — employees
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitch — completely
  15. court — of law
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rock — a stone
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. season — in sport

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