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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · leaves · pitcher · coach · wake · court · sharp · ball

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. court — of law
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. court — for sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wake — a trail
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chair — a leader
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. court — of a king
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. ball — a great time

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