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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: kid · straw · prune · coach · mine · row · court · key

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. kid — child
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. court — of a king
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mine — for digging
  14. key — the most important part
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. row — a line
  17. key — in music
  18. court — for sport
  19. key — for a lock
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of law

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