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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: bound · firm · mine · fan · court · band · date · ground

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. ground — a position
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bound — obliged
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. court — of law
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. ground — crushed
  14. firm — a company
  15. bound — certain
  16. date — the fruit
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. firm — steady
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — of a king
  24. firm — decided

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