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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: band · pop · club · ball · mug · bark · court · file

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. file — a tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. ball — a dance
  7. court — of law
  8. pop — music
  9. file — a line of people
  10. club — a group
  11. file — a document
  12. band — a ring
  13. pop — soda
  14. mug — a face
  15. court — for sport
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ball — a great time
  18. club — for golf
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. mug — a cup
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bark — to shout
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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