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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: bound · game · band · court · row · squash · staff · plane

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bound — tied together
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. row — a line
  6. staff — employees
  7. game — wild animals
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a match
  10. court — for sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. court — of a king
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. squash — to crush
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. bound — certain
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bound — obliged
  21. row — to paddle
  22. band — a music group
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. plane — in geometry

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