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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bound — certain
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wound — an injury
  9. court — of law
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bound — tied together
  14. court — of a king
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. stock — goods
  20. bound — obliged
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. court — for sport
  24. fork — in a road

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