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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: ball · hand · rule · bound · season · sharp

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. rule — government
  3. ball — a dance
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bound — tied together
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bound — obliged
  10. season — of the year
  11. hand — in cards
  12. sharp — clever
  13. season — in sport
  14. rule — a law
  15. bound — certain
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. hand — help
  18. ball — a great time

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