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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 116 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: pit · tear · coach · wound · fan · stand · deal · court

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. pit — a hole
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — of law
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. deal — to handle
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pit — in a race
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. fan — to cool the air

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