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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: fan · bat · date · coach · wake · court · drill · bulb

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. drill — army training
  9. court — for sport
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bulb — for light
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bat — the animal
  15. court — of law
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. court — of a king
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. drill — the tool
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bulb — for light

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