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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. tear — to rip
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — of the year
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spell — letters
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — a publisher
  14. last — finally
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. last — final
  17. court — for sport
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spell — magic
  21. tear — from crying
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. court — of a king
  24. press — to push

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