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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. court — for sport
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. swing — to play on
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. court — of a king
  8. stock — goods
  9. hand — in cards
  10. board — to get on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. swing — music
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. court — of law
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. board — a committee
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. hand — help
  24. coach — a trainer

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