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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: cold · mouse · land · foot · court · rush · fall · coach

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. court — of a king
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rush — hurry
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. cold — not warm
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. court — of law
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. land — to come down
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. court — for sport

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