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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 120 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. row — a line
  7. rest — what's left
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — a break
  10. snap — to click
  11. court — of law
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. court — for sport
  15. row — to paddle
  16. dip — to sink
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. hand — help
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. hand — in cards
  24. season — of the year

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