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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 120 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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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: swing · club · court · stick · band · trunk · file · row

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. court — of a king
  5. swing — music
  6. row — a line
  7. club — for dancing
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. club — a group
  10. swing — in golf
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. court — for sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. club — for golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. row — to paddle
  21. file — a tool
  22. court — of law
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. file — a document

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