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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 120 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: court · chip · firm · bank · land · band · drill · saw

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chip — to eat
  4. firm — decided
  5. drill — army training
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. firm — steady
  9. band — a music group
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a ring
  12. firm — a company
  13. chip — for betting
  14. land — to come down
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bank — of a river
  17. saw — the tool
  18. drill — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. court — of law
  21. drill — a practice
  22. land — a country
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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