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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 116 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. court — for sport
  4. net — in sport
  5. season — in sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mug — a face
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. net — for catching
  11. shower — rain
  12. net — after costs
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. court — of law
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mug — to rob
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. court — of a king
  23. season — of the year
  24. racket — a loud noise

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