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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bound — obliged
  7. season — in sport
  8. press — newspapers
  9. staff — employees
  10. press — a publisher
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. ground — the earth
  16. row — a line
  17. press — to push
  18. row — to paddle
  19. staff — employees
  20. court — of a king
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. court — of law
  24. ground — a position

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