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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lean — to bend
  4. court — of law
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. court — for sport
  7. season — in sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. band — a music group
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. court — of a king
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. band — a ring
  18. prune — to trim
  19. season — of the year
  20. key — the most important part
  21. prune — to trim
  22. key — in music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rash — a series

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