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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. season — of the year
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. game — a match
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. court — of law
  11. lean — to bend
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. season — in sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lean — thin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. court — of a king
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. court — for sport
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. game — wild animals

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