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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: board · band · file · court · rule · cue · bank · pop

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cue — a signal
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bank — for money
  6. rule — a law
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bank — for money
  9. band — a ring
  10. court — for sport
  11. pop — soda
  12. rule — government
  13. court — of law
  14. file — a tool
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bank — of a river
  17. court — of a king
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — music
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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