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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: tear · court · pop · bulb · field · object · race · coach

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. object — an aim
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pop — music
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. object — to protest
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — a subject
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. pop — soda
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. object — a thing
  21. tear — to rip
  22. court — for sport
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bulb — for light

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