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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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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: chair · season · rest · saw · bat · court

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rest — what's left
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of law
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rest — a break
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. court — of a king
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — for sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. chair — to sit on

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