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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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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: date · court · wound · season · bass · foot · cell · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. date — the fruit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bass — low music
  11. court — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. foot — a measure
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — of law
  16. season — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of a king
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cell — in biology
  24. season — of the year

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