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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rule — a law
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mine — for digging
  6. hand — help
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. rest — what's left
  9. court — for sport
  10. rest — a break
  11. court — of law
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. court — of a king
  14. season — in sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rule — government
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pitch — completely
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mine — belonging to me

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