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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 · mate · suit · season · saw · sharp · fork · present

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. court — for sport
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mate — to breed
  4. court — of a king
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. present — there
  7. suit — in cards
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. present — a gift
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. season — of the year
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. saw — the tool
  15. present — the time now
  16. fork — in a road
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mate — a partner
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — clothes
  21. mate — a friend
  22. court — of law
  23. sharp — clever
  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