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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — of a king
  5. fine — high quality
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rest — a break
  8. prune — to trim
  9. key — the most important part
  10. capital — a city
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fine — all right
  15. capital — money
  16. key — in music
  17. season — of the year
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. season — in sport
  24. prune — to trim

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