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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 120 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: saw · land · court · row · coach · fork · swing · kid

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. court — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. swing — in golf
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. land — to come down
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fork — in a road
  10. kid — to tease
  11. saw — the tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. land — a country
  14. swing — music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. swing — to play on
  17. saw — the tool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. court — of law
  21. row — a line
  22. court — of a king
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — ground

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