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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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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 · season · pound · saw · dip · tear · sharp · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. court — of law
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. dip — to sink
  8. saw — the tool
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. race — humankind
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — a weight
  18. season — in sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. tear — to rip
  24. court — of a king

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