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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 124 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. court — for sport
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. row — a line
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — the animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. field — for sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. field — a subject
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bat — in an idiom

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