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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: court · band · stem · season · cue · club

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. court — for sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cue — a hint
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cue — for pool
  13. court — of law
  14. season — of the year
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. club — a group
  17. cue — a signal
  18. court — of a king

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