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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · court · chip · spring · bank · wind · pop · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bank — for money
  3. court — of a king
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. bank — of a river
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bank — for money
  9. spring — of water
  10. pop — music
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pop — soda
  19. chip — to eat
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spring — the season
  22. chip — for betting
  23. court — of law
  24. chip — in a computer

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