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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: pound · court · mark · band · march · fork · swing · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. swing — to play on
  3. march — the month
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. march — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. court — of law
  11. swing — music
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pound — a weight
  14. court — of a king
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. band — a ring
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. march — the month
  23. court — for sport
  24. band — a rubber band

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