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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: deal · court · fan · nail · mine · band · content · swing

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. court — for sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. court — of a king
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. swing — in golf
  11. deal — to handle
  12. band — a music group
  13. mine — for digging
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. band — a ring
  22. content — the amount
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. court — of law

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