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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: pit · court · content · swing · kick · coach · cabinet · march

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pit — in a race
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. march — music
  8. pit — a hole
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. content — the amount
  13. kick — in football
  14. court — of law
  15. march — the month
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — the month
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. court — for sport
  22. swing — in golf
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cabinet — ministers

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