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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. object — an aim
  3. sharp — clever
  4. object — to protest
  5. season — in sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. scale — in music
  8. last — final
  9. hand — in cards
  10. last — to go on
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. scale — size or range
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. object — a thing
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. last — finally
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. court — of law
  24. sharp — exactly

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