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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: court · date · lie · coach · chair · spell · field · rock

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. court — of law
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. field — a subject
  6. lie — to recline
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rock — music
  10. spell — letters
  11. field — for sport
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. rock — a stone
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. spell — magic
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. court — of a king
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. court — for sport
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chair — a professorship

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