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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. suit — clothes
  3. suit — in cards
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. season — in sport
  6. drill — army training
  7. court — for sport
  8. face — to point toward
  9. court — of a king
  10. game — wild animals
  11. face — to confront
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. drill — the tool
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. clip — for paper
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. drill — a practice
  21. season — of the year
  22. face — part of the head
  23. game — a match
  24. suit — to fit

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