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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 · mark · band · racket · kid · rash · stem · foot

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. court — of law
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. band — a music group
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stem — to come from
  7. court — of a king
  8. rash — a series
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. foot — a measure
  12. rash — hasty
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mark — a trace
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — a grade
  19. court — for sport
  20. band — a ring
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a rubber band

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