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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.

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: court · squash · object · capital · chair · lash · last · season

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. last — final
  2. season — in sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. last — to go on
  5. court — of a king
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. capital — money
  8. chair — a leader
  9. object — a thing
  10. squash — to crush
  11. object — to protest
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. object — an aim
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. season — of the year
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. last — finally
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. squash — the sport
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. capital — a city
  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