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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: court · can · season · root · game · fan · land · fall

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fall — the season
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. can — to be able to
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. season — in sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — wild animals
  13. court — of law
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — of a king
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. court — for sport
  18. land — ground
  19. root — the cause
  20. season — of the year
  21. root — of a word
  22. game — a match
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. root — of a plant

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