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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — for sport
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mate — a partner
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of a king
  8. plane — a tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cue — a signal
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cue — for pool
  22. court — of law
  23. cue — a hint
  24. mate — a friend

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