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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 · trunk · craft · court · rule · club · bat · spring

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. court — of a king
  4. club — for dancing
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. court — of law
  11. club — a group
  12. rule — government
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — boats
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. club — for golf
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. spring — the season
  21. craft — a skill
  22. season — in sport
  23. rule — a law
  24. court — for sport

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