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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: bowl · wound · firm · march · court · net · band · pit

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — of a king
  11. march — the month
  12. firm — a company
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — the month
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. court — for sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. march — music
  20. court — of law
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. band — a ring

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