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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: spring · bass · coach · stem · march · swing · court · rush

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. march — the month
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bass — the fish
  5. swing — to play on
  6. march — music
  7. court — for sport
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. swing — music
  10. stem — to come from
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. court — of a king
  14. march — the month
  15. spring — a coil
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bass — low music
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  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