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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. court — of a king
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. clip — to cut
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. sharp — clever
  10. court — for sport
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. band — a ring
  14. plane — a tool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rash — hasty
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. band — a music group
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rash — a series
  24. court — of law

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