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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of a king
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bear — the animal
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. court — for sport
  12. rest — a break
  13. bear — the animal
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rest — what's left
  19. season — of the year
  20. court — of law
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rest — what's left
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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