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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · ground · file · racket · kick · coach · wound · rash

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. spell — magic
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — a position
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rash — hasty
  9. spell — a short time
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. file — a tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. file — a document
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — letters
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. rash — a series
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. file — a line of people

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