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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: hand · drill · swing · track · court · root · band · chip

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. hand — help
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — in golf
  5. track — to keep track
  6. drill — a practice
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. drill — army training
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. chip — to eat
  11. swing — music
  12. hand — in cards
  13. band — a ring
  14. root — the cause
  15. band — a music group
  16. swing — to play on
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. court — of law
  20. root — of a plant
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chip — for betting
  23. court — for sport
  24. chip — in a computer

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