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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: cold · court · staff · wave · bore · coach · bass · bark

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bark — to shout
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. staff — employees
  8. bass — low music
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — an illness
  20. staff — employees
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cold — not warm
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bore — gave birth

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