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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: chest · cold · racket · court · deal · fork · bank · season

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. season — of the year
  3. chest — a box
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. chest — of your body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — for sport
  19. bank — of a river
  20. court — of a king
  21. deal — to handle
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cold — not warm

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