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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: rock · court · band · march · pitch · craft · coach · dip

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rock — music
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — of a king
  5. pitch — completely
  6. march — the month
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. court — for sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. craft — a skill
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. craft — boats
  16. march — music
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. court — of law
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a music group

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