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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: saw · wind · shower · trunk · leaves · coach · court · fine

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. court — of a king
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fine — all right
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. saw — the tool
  12. court — of law
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. court — for sport
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wind — moving air

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