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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 116 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: court · field · racket · chair · key · cap · band · cue

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cue — a signal
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. band — a ring
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. court — for sport
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cue — for pool
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cap — a hat
  15. key — in music
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. band — a music group
  18. field — farmland
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. key — the most important part
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. court — of law
  23. chair — a leader
  24. court — of a king

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