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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: march · coach · cabinet · court · snap · bat · hand · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. court — for sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. court — of a king
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. hand — help
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. court — of law
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — the animal
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. snap — to click
  24. hand — part of the body

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