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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: spell · bowl · prune · season · bass · court · key · field

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. court — for sport
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. spell — magic
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bass — low music
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. court — of law
  11. prune — to trim
  12. field — a subject
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — for sport
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. court — of a king
  18. season — of the year
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. spell — letters
  23. season — in sport
  24. field — farmland

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