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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — the season
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pop — soda
  6. band — a music group
  7. craft — boats
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pop — to visit
  10. court — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — of water
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pop — music
  17. court — of a king
  18. craft — a skill

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