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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. court — of a king
  4. scale — size or range
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. mark — a grade
  9. swing — to play on
  10. court — of law
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bore — to drill
  14. swing — music
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. last — to go on
  17. scale — in music
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. mark — a trace
  22. court — for sport
  23. bore — to tire
  24. season — in 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