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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: bear · band · chip · mate · club · wound · row · court

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mate — a partner
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. row — a line
  7. court — for sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chip — to eat
  10. band — a ring
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — of a king
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. club — for golf
  18. mate — to breed
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — an injury
  21. club — a group
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bear — the animal

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