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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He was locked up in 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. coach — a trainer
  2. band — a ring
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. rock — music
  6. band — a music group
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. scale — in music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. court — of a king
  13. pit — a hole
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rock — a stone
  22. court — of law
  23. cell — in a prison
  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