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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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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: racket · court · bat · pound · cell · chair · trunk · coach

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. court — for sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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