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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 · press · court · straw · rock · ball · last

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. ball — a great time
  3. press — to push
  4. ball — a dance
  5. last — finally
  6. press — newspapers
  7. pop — to visit
  8. court — for sport
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. court — of law
  12. pop — soda
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. last — final
  16. band — a music group
  17. court — of a king
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. last — to go on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. band — a ring
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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