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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 · cabinet · firm · coach · swing · squash · bank · content

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. swing — in golf
  7. firm — decided
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bank — for money
  10. firm — steady
  11. court — of law
  12. content — the amount
  13. swing — music
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bank — for money
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. content — happy
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cabinet — ministers

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