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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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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 · bay · race · chest · saw · land · coach · dip

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. dip — to sink
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chest — a box
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. court — of law
  16. land — ground
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. court — of a king

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