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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: club · march · band · content · wind · pop · snap · court

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of law
  6. club — for dancing
  7. march — the month
  8. court — for sport
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pop — to visit
  11. band — a ring
  12. court — of a king
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. march — music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. club — for golf
  17. band — a music group
  18. content — the amount
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pop — music
  21. snap — to click
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. club — a group

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