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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 · drill · coach · racket · bear · perch · rest · cold

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — an illness
  5. drill — the tool
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bear — the animal
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rest — what's left
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rest — what's left
  15. court — of a king
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bear — the animal
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — a practice
  22. perch — the fish
  23. drill — army training
  24. rest — a break

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