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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 120 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 · fan · game · snap · court · fork · mark · cell

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. court — for sport
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. season — in sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. court — of a king
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mark — a grade
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cell — in biology
  16. game — a match
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mark — a trace
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fan — a supporter

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