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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: band · pop · chair · hand · bear · bowl · court · land

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. bear — the animal
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a music group
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. chair — a leader
  11. court — for sport
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. band — a ring
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pop — to visit
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bear — the animal

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