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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: prune · court · season · arm · cabinet · pop · chip · bound

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. court — for sport
  4. pop — to visit
  5. court — of law
  6. pop — soda
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bound — certain
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. court — of a king
  13. bound — obliged
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bound — tied together
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. season — in sport
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chip — for betting
  23. season — of the year
  24. arm — part of the body

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