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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 · court · tear · swing · kick · band · chest · arm

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — a box
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of law
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kick — in football
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a ring
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a music group
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. court — for sport

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