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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. chip — to eat
  3. hand — in cards
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. land — ground
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. hand — help
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. squash — the sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chip — for betting
  19. squash — to crush
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — a country
  24. stand — to bear

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