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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: fan · spring · band · bank · tear · court · plane · field

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a music group
  3. court — of a king
  4. bank — for money
  5. court — for sport
  6. bank — of a river
  7. field — a subject
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. court — of law
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bank — for money
  15. spring — the season
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. band — a ring
  21. spring — of water
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — a coil

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