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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: cap · chip · net · swing · drill · bass · court · band

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. bass — low music
  2. drill — army training
  3. court — of a king
  4. net — after costs
  5. band — a ring
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cap — a lid
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — of law
  11. band — a music group
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cap — of ice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chip — for betting
  17. drill — a practice
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. court — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  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