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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 120 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: content · court · row · band · club · rock · fine · perch

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. band — a music group
  5. court — of a king
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. content — happy
  8. court — for sport
  9. band — a ring
  10. fine — high quality
  11. content — the amount
  12. court — of law
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rock — music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fine — all right
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rock — a stone
  19. row — a line
  20. perch — the fish
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. row — to paddle

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