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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: wave · bulb · ground · straw · net · coach · court · wound

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — of law
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. court — for sport
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bulb — for light
  10. net — in sport
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. court — of a king
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ground — the earth
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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