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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: snap · court · rush · season · hide · game · spring · track

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. court — of law
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. game — a match
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. court — for sport
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. spring — of water
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. season — of the year
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. court — of a king
  20. track — a song
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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