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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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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: bat · pop · staff · season · pound · wind · bound · court

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pop — music
  4. court — of a king
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bound — certain
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. court — of law
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — of the year
  14. staff — employees
  15. court — for sport
  16. staff — employees
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pop — soda
  24. bat — for baseball

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