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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. court — for sport
  3. kick — in football
  4. clip — a video
  5. season — in sport
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — of law
  8. last — finally
  9. cold — not warm
  10. suit — in cards
  11. last — final
  12. current — of water
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. current — happening now
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. suit — clothes
  17. season — of the year
  18. current — electric
  19. court — of a king
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — to go on

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