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

Word bank: foot · hand · mug · rash · court · swing · band · bark

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mug — a face
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. court — for sport
  6. hand — help
  7. court — of a king
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. hand — in cards
  17. swing — music
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mug — to rob
  23. court — of law
  24. mug — a cup

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