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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. court — of law
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. court — of a king
  10. band — a music group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. court — for sport
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. club — for golf
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mark — a grade
  20. club — a group
  21. chest — a box
  22. mark — a trace
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cell — in biology

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