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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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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: bear · court · kid · hand · ball · band · club · arm

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. club — for dancing
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. band — a ring
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. court — of law
  7. kid — to tease
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. bear — the animal
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ball — a dance
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bear — the animal
  19. court — of a king
  20. club — for golf
  21. kid — child
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. club — a group
  24. ball — a great time

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