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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: kid · wake · coach · court · bat · tube · dip · scale

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. court — of a king
  4. bat — the animal
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — a container
  14. scale — in music
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. court — of law
  17. tube — the underground
  18. court — for sport
  19. kid — child
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kid — to tease
  24. dip — to sink

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