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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: rush · season · ground · court · chair · clip · cell · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. court — of a king
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. court — of law
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cell — a phone
  7. craft — boats
  8. ground — a position
  9. chair — a leader
  10. craft — a skill
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. court — for sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. season — of the year
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. season — in sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. season — to add flavour

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