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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fine · cold · plane · march · spell · season · mine

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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 — of the year
  2. court — of law
  3. march — music
  4. spell — letters
  5. cold — not warm
  6. season — in sport
  7. plane — a tool
  8. march — the month
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. march — the month
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — for sport
  16. fine — high quality
  17. spell — magic
  18. fine — all right
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. mine — for digging
  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