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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cell · court · hand · pit · root · mate · pop

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. hand — in cards
  5. root — the cause
  6. pop — music
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pop — to visit
  11. court — of a king
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pop — soda
  14. season — in sport
  15. court — for sport
  16. cell — a phone
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mate — a partner
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. root — of a word
  24. court — of law

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