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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: stick · field · court · bound · key · coach · pop · cold

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. court — for sport
  3. key — in music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. key — the most important part
  6. field — farmland
  7. bound — certain
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pop — to visit
  16. field — for sport
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. field — a subject
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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