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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: court · net · band · bowl · chest · dip · can · kid

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. kid — child
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. net — after costs
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. court — of law
  11. net — for catching
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. net — in sport
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. can — a tin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a ring
  20. dip — to sink
  21. band — a music group
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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