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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 116 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
468
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: plane · bark · land · swing · court · key · mate · band

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. mate — to breed
  3. band — a ring
  4. court — for sport
  5. land — a country
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mate — a partner
  8. band — a music group
  9. key — the most important part
  10. court — of a king
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. key — for a lock
  16. land — ground
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. swing — in golf
  20. land — to come down
  21. key — in music
  22. mate — a friend
  23. court — of law
  24. bark — to shout

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