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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 120 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: trunk · mark · bound · court · season · game · rule · file

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bound — tied together
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. rule — a law
  5. game — a match
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. court — for sport
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. file — a line of people
  10. court — of a king
  11. bound — certain
  12. rule — government
  13. game — wild animals
  14. file — a tool
  15. mark — a trace
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mark — a grade
  18. court — of law
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bound — obliged
  23. file — a document
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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