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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: court · wind · drill · racket · leaves · coach · bore · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. court — of a king
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. drill — army training
  13. court — for sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bore — to tire
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wind — moving air
  19. drill — a practice
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — of law
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. leaves — lets stay

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