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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 120 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fork — in a road
  4. land — to come down
  5. club — for dancing
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. track — a path
  9. drill — army training
  10. club — a group
  11. track — a song
  12. land — ground
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bore — to drill
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. land — a country
  19. bore — to tire
  20. club — for golf
  21. court — of law
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. drill — the tool

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