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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. ground — crushed
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. ground — a position
  6. season — of the year
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — final
  12. key — in music
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wax — to grow
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. ground — the earth
  20. last — finally
  21. court — of law
  22. key — for a lock
  23. last — to go on
  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