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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. key — for a lock
  5. tear — to rip
  6. court — of law
  7. key — in music
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — a company
  10. can — a tin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. season — of the year
  13. can — a tin
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. firm — decided
  17. land — ground
  18. court — for sport
  19. land — a country
  20. court — of a king
  21. land — to come down
  22. can — to be able to
  23. season — in sport
  24. key — the most important part

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