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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: court · wind · band · object · chest · bay · leaves · date

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. object — an aim
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. court — of a king
  13. chest — of your body
  14. date — the fruit
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. object — a thing
  19. band — a music group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — to protest
  22. band — a ring
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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