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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. staff — employees
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. staff — employees
  5. pitch — completely
  6. court — of a king
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. last — final
  19. bark — to shout
  20. court — of law
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. last — finally
  24. court — for sport

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