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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · roll · squash · spring · cabinet · court · rush · net

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a cake
  5. net — after costs
  6. spring — the season
  7. net — for catching
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. spring — of water
  10. rush — hurry
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — of a king
  13. band — a ring
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. roll — a list
  17. squash — to crush
  18. court — for sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. net — in sport
  21. squash — the sport
  22. court — of law
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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