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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · prune · mate · chest · court · coach · ball · fall

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fall — the season
  3. chest — a box
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — wild animals
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ball — a dance
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ball — a great time
  20. court — for sport
  21. mate — a friend
  22. game — a match
  23. court — of a king
  24. mate — a partner

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