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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. present — a gift
  5. last — final
  6. capital — money
  7. season — in sport
  8. face — part of the head
  9. court — of a king
  10. last — finally
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. last — to go on
  14. face — to point toward
  15. court — of law
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. deal — to handle
  18. face — to confront
  19. present — the time now
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. capital — a city

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