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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: coach · content · swing · clip · court · pop · cap · band

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pop — to visit
  3. swing — to play on
  4. band — a music group
  5. content — the amount
  6. pop — soda
  7. clip — a video
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cap — of ice
  10. court — of a king
  11. swing — in golf
  12. court — for sport
  13. pop — music
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a ring
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cap — a lid
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — of law
  24. swing — music

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