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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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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. hand — help
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — of a king
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — to protest
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. bank — for money
  14. root — of a word
  15. court — for sport
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bank — of a river
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. bank — for money
  21. court — of law
  22. band — a music group
  23. last — finally
  24. object — a thing

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