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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: band · court · chest · field · sharp · cue · nail · cabinet

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. court — of a king
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. field — for sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cue — for pool
  11. band — a music group
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. field — a subject
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. field — farmland
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. band — a ring

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