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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: court · bound · band · club · season · arm · plane · track

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. club — for dancing
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. court — of a king
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. plane — a tool
  9. track — a path
  10. bound — tied together
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. track — to keep track
  14. court — of law
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. track — a song
  18. court — for sport
  19. club — for golf
  20. bound — obliged
  21. club — a group
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. band — a music group
  24. bound — certain

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