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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 120 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: race · court · plane · coach · game · rock · march · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. race — humankind
  3. plane — a tool
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — for sport
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — a match
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. march — music
  15. game — wild animals
  16. court — of a king
  17. land — to come down
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — a stone
  20. march — the month
  21. rock — music
  22. march — the month
  23. land — ground
  24. court — of law

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