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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.

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: race · court · ball · coach · cabinet · band · land · swing

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a ring
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. swing — to play on
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. race — humankind
  11. swing — in golf
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. court — of law
  14. race — a contest
  15. land — ground
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. land — a country
  19. ball — a dance
  20. race — the arms race
  21. band — a music group
  22. swing — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ball — a great time

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