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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cap — a hat
  4. saw — the tool
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. roll — a list
  10. season — of the year
  11. march — music
  12. court — of a king
  13. cap — of ice
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. season — in sport
  16. roll — a cake
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cap — a lid
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. shower — rain
  22. root — the cause
  23. court — of law
  24. shower — to wash

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