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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 · calf · ground · racket · mine · bound · hand · face

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bound — tied together
  3. hand — in cards
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bound — obliged
  7. mine — for digging
  8. face — to point toward
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. face — to confront
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — help
  18. face — part of the head
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bound — certain
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. racket — for tennis

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