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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: coach · wind · swing · present · court · mine · perch · snap

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. court — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — a gift
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. present — the time now
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. present — there
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to click
  16. mine — for digging
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. court — of law
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. court — of a king
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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