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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cap — of ice
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. kid — to tease
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — child
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. court — of law
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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