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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 · kid · ground · bore · court · leaves · mine · pass

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. kid — child
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ground — the earth
  12. season — in sport
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bore — to drill
  21. court — of a king
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — a permit
  24. mine — belonging to me

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