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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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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 · court · mark · wake · bank · cold · stem · club

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. mark — a trace
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bank — for money
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. court — of law
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bank — for money
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mark — a grade
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bank — of a river
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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