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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: court · cap · season · roll · staff · key · bound · hand

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. roll — a cake
  3. staff — a stick
  4. season — in sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. court — of law
  8. key — in music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. court — for sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. key — the most important part
  17. court — of a king
  18. roll — a list
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. key — for a lock
  21. staff — employees
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. staff — employees

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