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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: swing · straw · cabinet · coach · pitcher · snap · cue · court

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. swing — to play on
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cue — for pool
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. swing — music
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cue — a hint
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cue — a signal

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