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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: wound · bound · court · season · key · game · jam · cue

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. season — of the year
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a signal
  5. court — of a king
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. key — the most important part
  11. season — in sport
  12. game — a match
  13. cue — a hint
  14. court — of law
  15. wound — an injury
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wound — an injury
  21. key — in music
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. court — for sport

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