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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: march · nail · season · spring · pitcher · court · wound · leaves

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. march — music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — the month
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — the season
  9. season — in sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. spring — of water
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. march — the month
  20. court — for sport
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wound — an injury
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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