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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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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: fork · wound · coach · ground · chest · stand · cue · court

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. court — of law
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — a position
  8. cue — for pool
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cue — a hint
  12. chest — of your body
  13. court — of a king
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. court — for sport
  17. cue — a signal
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. chest — a box
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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