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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 124 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rock — music
  3. field — a subject
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pit — a hole
  10. season — of the year
  11. rock — a stone
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. field — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. field — farmland

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