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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: hand · mouse · nail · mine · squash · last · field · coach

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. last — finally
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. field — for sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. last — final
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hand — help
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — to go on
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. field — a subject
  24. mine — for digging

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