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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: ground · season · bat · wound · saw · safe · court · firm

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. firm — steady
  3. ground — crushed
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. court — of a king
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — a company
  17. ground — a position
  18. court — for sport
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. bat — the animal
  21. season — of the year
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. ground — the earth
  24. court — of law

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