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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · net · fork · season · court · wave · cold · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. sharp — clever
  3. court — of a king
  4. key — in music
  5. net — in sport
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. net — for catching
  8. season — in sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. court — of law
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. season — of the year
  19. court — for sport
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. key — the most important part
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. net — after costs

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