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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: march · chip · kid · bat · season · club · lie · court

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. club — for dancing
  4. kid — child
  5. season — of the year
  6. court — of a king
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. march — the month
  9. court — of law
  10. season — in sport
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chip — to eat
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chip — for betting
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lie — to recline
  19. club — a group
  20. court — for sport
  21. march — music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. club — for golf

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