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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: court · wound · band · date · shower · bear · suit · plane

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. shower — to wash
  3. suit — in cards
  4. band — a music group
  5. court — for sport
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — of a king
  9. bear — the animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. suit — to fit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. date — the fruit
  23. court — of law
  24. shower — rain

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