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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · fork · court · cold · coach · pass · bowl · stick

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — help
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. court — for sport
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — in a road
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pass — a permit
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. court — of a king

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