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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: ball · season · mug · land · wake · court · net · rush

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. net — in sport
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. land — ground
  7. court — of a king
  8. land — to come down
  9. ball — a great time
  10. court — of law
  11. season — in sport
  12. rush — hurry
  13. net — after costs
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mug — to rob
  17. court — for sport
  18. mug — a face
  19. net — for catching
  20. ball — a dance
  21. season — of the year
  22. land — a country
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wake — a trail

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