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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 · present · coach · last · kick · pitch · net · branch

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kick — in football
  5. pitch — completely
  6. present — there
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. present — the time now
  11. court — for sport
  12. branch — a division
  13. net — for catching
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. last — to go on
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. net — after costs
  22. present — a gift
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. last — finally

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