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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: tube · tear · court · coach · deal · snap · object · wound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. object — to protest
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — an aim
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. court — of law
  15. tube — a container
  16. wound — an injury
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wound — an injury
  19. object — a thing
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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