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

Word bank: season · cue · mark · court · sharp · hand · fall · stick

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. court — for sport
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. hand — help
  7. cue — a hint
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. court — of a king
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fall — to drop
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. mark — a trace
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mark — a grade
  23. court — of law
  24. season — in sport

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