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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 116 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: file · bound · present · court · bass · tear · season · mouse

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. file — a document
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bass — low music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bound — tied together
  14. season — in sport
  15. court — of law
  16. bound — certain
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. file — a line of people
  22. present — there
  23. bound — obliged
  24. tear — from crying

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