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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: arm · fan · band · pound · content · racket · court · cell

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. band — a music group
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. content — happy
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pound — a weight
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cell — a phone
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. band — a ring
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. content — the amount
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. cell — in biology

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