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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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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: stand · fork · field · kid · coach · snap · court · last

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. last — to go on
  3. court — for sport
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. field — farmland
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. court — of law
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. court — of a king
  11. last — finally
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. field — a subject
  20. fork — in a road
  21. snap — to click
  22. stand — to bear
  23. last — final
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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