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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: shower · court · bound · plane · coach · march · hand · calf

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — for sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bound — tied together
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. march — the month
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bound — obliged
  10. plane — a tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. shower — rain
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. court — of a king
  17. bound — certain
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. hand — in cards
  20. march — the month
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. court — of law
  23. march — music
  24. coach — a trainer

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