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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. last — final
  5. capital — a city
  6. foot — a measure
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — finally
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. court — of a king
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. saw — the tool
  16. season — of the year
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. capital — money
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — to go on
  22. lie — to recline
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — of law

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