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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: mate · racket · band · craft · mine · court · tube · stock

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. tube — the underground
  3. band — a music group
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. craft — boats
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. court — for sport
  8. mate — a partner
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. craft — a skill
  14. court — of law
  15. mate — to breed
  16. tube — a container
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stock — shares
  19. mine — for digging
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mate — a friend
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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