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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 · foot · sharp · game · mine · hand · ground · bowl

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. hand — help
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — a position
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — wild animals
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. game — a match
  22. foot — a measure
  23. ground — crushed
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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