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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 · safe · wound · band · can · prune · season · bore

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bore — to tire
  4. season — in sport
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. band — a ring
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. can — to be able to
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. can — a tin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bore — to drill
  13. prune — to trim
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. can — a tin
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — to trim
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. season — of the year
  22. court — for sport
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wound — an injury

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