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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
468
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: cabinet · court · perch · date · coach · track · cold · field

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of law
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. perch — the fish
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — of a king
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — for sport
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. date — the fruit

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