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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: pound · season · spell · rest · last · pop · court · object

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. court — of law
  3. pop — to visit
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. object — to protest
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. last — to go on
  9. object — an aim
  10. pop — soda
  11. spell — letters
  12. last — final
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. rest — a break
  17. court — of a king
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. last — finally
  21. object — a thing
  22. pound — a weight
  23. court — for sport
  24. pop — music

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