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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. present — a gift
  6. cell — a phone
  7. capital — money
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. capital — a city
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. present — the time now
  12. season — of the year
  13. court — of law
  14. present — there
  15. deal — to handle
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rush — hurry
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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