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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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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 · kid · club · fine · swing · court · fan · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. club — for dancing
  6. band — a ring
  7. kid — child
  8. court — of law
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. swing — in golf
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. club — a group
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fine — high quality
  16. band — a music group
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — for sport
  19. fine — all right
  20. swing — music
  21. court — of a king
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. club — for golf
  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