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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 · spell · pop · toast · rock · court · trunk · cold

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. court — of a king
  3. pop — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. band — a music group
  6. court — of law
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. band — a ring
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. spell — magic
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spell — a short time
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spell — letters
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rock — music
  23. court — for sport
  24. pop — soda

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