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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: mate · tear · bowl · court · season · foot · pitcher · kid

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. mate — a partner
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. court — for sport
  14. tear — to rip
  15. foot — a measure
  16. season — in sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. court — of a king
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. season — of the year
  22. court — of law
  23. kid — child
  24. mate — a friend

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