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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: hand · bass · pit · ground · mark · band · court · chair

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mark — a trace
  4. band — a music group
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mark — a grade
  7. court — for sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pit — a hole
  10. court — of a king
  11. hand — help
  12. band — a ring
  13. ground — a position
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bass — low music
  16. ground — the earth
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. court — of law
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bass — the fish

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