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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 120 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: court · bound · lean · season · mate · fall · bat · suit

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. bound — tied together
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mate — a partner
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — in cards
  9. season — in sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. mate — a friend
  12. suit — clothes
  13. lean — to bend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. court — of law
  17. season — of the year
  18. lean — thin
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. court — for sport
  24. bound — obliged

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