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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. game — wild animals
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rest — a break
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. season — in sport
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rest — what's left
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — a match
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. court — of law
  20. rest — what's left
  21. court — of a king
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — the animal
  24. court — for 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