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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: coach · stem · wind · hand · wound · arm · deal · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wound — an injury
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — to come from
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hand — help
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fine — high quality
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wind — moving air
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. hand — in cards
  24. coach — a trainer

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