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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. game — a match
  3. prune — to trim
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — of a king
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mug — to rob
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mug — a face
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. band — a ring
  16. season — in sport
  17. cap — a hat
  18. game — wild animals
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mug — a cup
  23. prune — the fruit
  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