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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · pound · racket · hand · season · cell

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — in sport
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rule — a law
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rule — government
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help

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