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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: shower · lash · jam · swing · coach · land · prune · chair

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. land — a country
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. land — to come down
  13. swing — in golf
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. chair — a leader
  18. swing — music
  19. land — ground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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