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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: pit · season · court · wind · can · face · cell · saw

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. saw — the tool
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. face — to point toward
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. face — to confront
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. season — in sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — of the year

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