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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: cue · cabinet · court · field · wound · file · pop · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — farmland
  10. pop — to visit
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. court — for sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. file — a document
  18. court — of a king
  19. pop — soda
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of law
  22. file — a tool
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pop — music

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