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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bank — of a river
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. band — a ring
  7. bank — for money
  8. season — in sport
  9. band — a music group
  10. court — for sport
  11. last — finally
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hand — in cards
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. season — of the year
  19. perch — the fish
  20. hand — help
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bank — for money
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. nail — for a hammer

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