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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: track · court · chair · degree · date · coach · fall · lie

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. court — of a king
  9. lie — to recline
  10. court — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. date — the fruit
  16. degree — temperature
  17. track — a path
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. track — a song
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chair — a professorship

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