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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · snap · cap · pound · court · band

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. season — of the year
  3. cap — a hat
  4. snap — to click
  5. cap — of ice
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. band — a ring
  8. court — of law
  9. pound — a weight
  10. court — of a king
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cap — a lid
  16. season — in sport
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. court — for sport

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