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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 · firm · race · jam · coach · branch · swing · last

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. firm — decided
  3. race — a contest
  4. last — finally
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. court — of a king
  8. firm — a company
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. firm — steady
  11. swing — music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. race — humankind
  14. swing — in golf
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. court — of law
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. last — final
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. last — to go on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. swing — to play on
  24. race — the arms race

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