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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: coach · court · net · safe · clip · fall · cue · pop

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. net — for catching
  4. pop — music
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. net — after costs
  7. cue — for pool
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. court — of a king
  11. pop — to visit
  12. court — for sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cue — a hint
  16. court — of law
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — the season
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pop — soda
  23. net — in sport
  24. cue — a signal

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