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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. track — a path
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — a grade
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. bat — the animal
  12. track — a song
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. court — of law
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. arm — a part of something

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