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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: wind · rest · bowl · coach · stem · pound

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stem — a stem cell

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