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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: prune · coach · net · club · racket · wound · band · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. band — a ring
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. net — after costs
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a music group
  14. club — for golf
  15. net — in sport
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. net — for catching
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. club — a group
  24. prune — to trim

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