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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: bound · bark · sharp · bowl · field · court · cell · season

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. court — of law
  3. bound — tied together
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bark — to shout
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. court — for sport
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. season — in sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bound — obliged
  16. field — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. field — farmland
  19. bound — certain
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cell — a phone
  23. field — a subject
  24. season — of the year

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