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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. court — of law
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. land — to come down
  8. court — for sport
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. content — happy
  12. land — ground
  13. swing — music
  14. bank — for money
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. land — a country
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a ring
  24. content — the amount

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