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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 · mate · squash · kid · bass · chest · root · rock

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mate — to breed
  4. rock — a stone
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kid — child
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mate — a partner
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bass — low music
  18. root — the cause
  19. bass — the fish
  20. root — of a word
  21. rock — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mate — a friend
  24. chest — a box

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