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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: season · pit · court · lean · cell · bass · band · stock

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pit — a hole
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. band — a ring
  5. season — in sport
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — in a race
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. court — of law
  14. band — a music group
  15. bass — low music
  16. season — of the year
  17. stock — shares
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bass — the instrument

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