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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. season — of the year
  10. court — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. court — of a king
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — in music
  20. court — of law
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fork — in a road
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bowl — to roll

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