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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — for paper
  5. court — of a king
  6. key — for a lock
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. board — a committee
  9. key — the most important part
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — in sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. board — to get on
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. sharp — with an edge

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