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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 120 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 · perch · cabinet · band · bore · pop · wake

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — for sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. court — of law
  16. bore — to drill
  17. court — of a king
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to tire
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wake — a trail

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