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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: court · firm · cue · rock · season · wind · wound · pass

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. court — for sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. court — of a king
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cue — for pool
  19. court — of law
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. firm — decided
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. firm — steady

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