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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: saw · net · snap · ground · court · coach · mark · band

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. net — for catching
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a music group
  7. saw — the tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. mark — a grade
  10. court — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a ring
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mark — a trace
  18. ground — the earth
  19. net — after costs
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. net — in sport
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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