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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: court · mate · prune · rush · chair · season · wound · game

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. court — of a king
  6. rush — hurry
  7. mate — a friend
  8. season — of the year
  9. court — for sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mate — to breed
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mate — a partner
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. game — a match
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. court — of law
  24. prune — to trim

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