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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: jam · roll · foot · court · arm · prune · cold · coach

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. roll — a cake
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. court — of law
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. roll — a list
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — a measure
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. cold — an illness
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — a trainer

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