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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bank — for money
  4. court — for sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tube — the underground
  7. game — a match
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. season — in sport
  10. tube — a container
  11. court — of law
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. court — of a king
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bank — for money
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bank — of a river

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