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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: court · squash · wake · mouse · bat · pound · band · key

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. squash — the sport
  5. key — in music
  6. band — a music group
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. court — of law
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bat — the animal
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. band — a ring
  21. wake — a trail
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. pound — a weight

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