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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: court · face · bark · coach · field · safe · cell · club

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — for sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cell — in biology
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cell — a phone
  12. court — of law
  13. field — for sport
  14. club — for dancing
  15. face — to confront
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. court — of a king

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