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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: key · hand · cap · court · season · bound · tear · bulb

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — in sport
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bound — obliged
  7. hand — help
  8. bound — certain
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bound — tied together
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bulb — for light
  18. tear — from crying
  19. key — in music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. court — of law
  22. key — the most important part
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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