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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 · staff · sharp · band · march · pound · cell · club

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. club — a group
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. march — music
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cell — in biology
  8. band — a ring
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. staff — employees
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. club — for golf
  18. band — a music group
  19. march — the month
  20. court — for sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. court — of law
  23. staff — a stick
  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