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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 120 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: pop · band · mine · court · sharp · fan · press · mouse

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — soda
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. band — a music group
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pop — to visit
  12. press — to push
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. court — of law
  15. press — newspapers
  16. sharp — clever
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. court — of a king
  20. band — a ring
  21. press — a publisher
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pop — music
  24. mouse — for a computer

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