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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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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: chip · snap · rash · season · racket · court · wind · stem

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. court — of law
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. court — of a king
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rash — a series
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wind — moving air
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chip — for betting
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — for sport
  17. snap — to click
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rash — hasty
  21. season — of the year
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. season — in 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