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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 116 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 · clip · fall · band · coach · ruler · racket · rash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. band — a music group
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. band — a ring
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. clip — to cut
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rash — hasty
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. court — of a king
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rash — a series
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. clip — a video
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a rubber band

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