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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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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: clip · cabinet · coach · ground · court · mug · last · pitcher

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. clip — a video
  4. court — of law
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ground — a position
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. court — for sport
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. mug — a face
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. mug — to rob
  21. last — final
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. court — of a king

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