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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: coach · calf · court · last · patient · spell · file · bowl

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. court — for sport
  3. file — a document
  4. court — of law
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. file — a line of people
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. spell — a short time
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. court — of a king
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — to go on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spell — letters
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a tool
  23. spell — magic
  24. calf — of the leg

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