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

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bound — certain
  3. wound — an injury
  4. court — for sport
  5. season — in sport
  6. mate — a partner
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mate — to breed
  12. can — to be able to
  13. court — of law
  14. bore — to drill
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — for catching
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. bound — tied together
  21. season — of the year
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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