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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: tear · season · dip · ground · court · fan · cue · land

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. court — for sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cue — for pool
  9. ground — crushed
  10. court — of law
  11. season — of the year
  12. land — ground
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cue — a signal
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — a hint
  18. season — in sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. land — a country
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. dip — to sink

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