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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 · bass · rush · court · fork · content · present · band

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. present — the time now
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. present — a gift
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. present — there
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. court — of law
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. content — happy
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bass — the instrument

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