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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
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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: nail · fan · season · cabinet · sharp · court · cold · root

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. court — of law
  3. root — of a word
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cold — an illness
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. root — of a plant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. court — of a king
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. court — for sport
  22. season — in sport
  23. root — the cause
  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