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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. season — of the year
  3. present — a gift
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. staff — a stick
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. staff — employees
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — in sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — of a king

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