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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. rest — a break
  4. court — of law
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — of a king
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cold — not warm
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — for sport
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pop — music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pop — soda
  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