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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: foot · kid · date · coach · stand · mine · court · wound

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. court — of a king
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wound — an injury
  6. foot — a measure
  7. kid — child
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stand — to bear
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. court — for sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. court — of law
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. kid — to tease

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