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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 120 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 · racket · season · cell · lash · court · spring · rest

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. court — of law
  3. season — in sport
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spring — the season
  7. ball — a great time
  8. season — of the year
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rest — what's left
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. ball — a dance
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rest — what's left
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. spring — a coil
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rest — a break
  21. court — of a king
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cell — in biology
  24. court — for sport

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