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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: court · coach · foot · chest · fall · chip · rush · deal

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. court — of law
  3. deal — to handle
  4. foot — a measure
  5. fall — to drop
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chest — a box
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chip — to eat
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. fall — the season
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chip — for betting
  18. court — for sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. court — of a king
  24. coach — a trainer

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