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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.

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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: march · coach · track · object · pop · straw · wound · court

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wound — an injury
  4. court — for sport
  5. pop — soda
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. pop — music
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — to visit
  16. track — a song
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. court — of law
  19. object — a thing
  20. march — the month
  21. track — to keep track
  22. object — to protest
  23. track — a path
  24. object — an aim

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