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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: land · cap · ball · dip · sharp · coach · roll · court

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. court — of a king
  3. land — a country
  4. ball — a great time
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. land — ground
  7. court — for sport
  8. roll — a list
  9. ball — a dance
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cap — of ice
  14. roll — a cake
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cap — a lid
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. dip — to sink
  20. court — of law
  21. land — to come down
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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