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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: court · band · craft · season · mug · squash · bat · bark

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. season — of the year
  4. squash — the sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. mug — a face
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. craft — boats
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. court — of law
  18. craft — a skill
  19. band — a music group
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. squash — to crush
  22. band — a ring
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — of a king

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