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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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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: board · wound · court · season · bank · face · last · key

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — to get on
  3. last — final
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. key — for a lock
  7. face — part of the head
  8. court — for sport
  9. season — in sport
  10. last — to go on
  11. board — a committee
  12. bank — of a river
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — to confront
  16. key — in music
  17. face — to point toward
  18. court — of law
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — an injury
  21. court — of a king
  22. bank — for money
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bank — for money

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