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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: mate · last · hand · race · court · coach · saw · wave

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — final
  4. hand — in cards
  5. court — of law
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. last — to go on
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mate — to breed
  13. court — of a king
  14. race — humankind
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. race — a contest
  18. hand — help
  19. court — for sport
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. race — the arms race
  22. last — finally
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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