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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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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: straw · ruler · court · coach · chest · key · race · spell

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. key — in music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spell — magic
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. court — of a king
  8. chest — a box
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — letters
  12. key — the most important part
  13. spell — a short time
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. race — a contest
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chest — of your body
  18. key — for a lock
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. court — of law
  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