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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: wave · pop · bulb · wound · track · court · coach · hand

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. hand — help
  3. track — a song
  4. court — of law
  5. pop — music
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. court — for sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pop — soda
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — in cards
  19. court — of a king
  20. pop — to visit
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. track — a path
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wave — with your hand

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