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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: wave · coach · field · root · kid · swing · nail · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. swing — music
  6. field — farmland
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — for sport
  10. spell — a short time
  11. root — of a word
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. root — the cause
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spell — letters
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. field — a subject
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. kid — child

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