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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: wound · roll · coach · row · kick · bat · root · rush

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. roll — a cake
  7. kick — in football
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. root — of a plant
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. root — of a word
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. row — a line
  22. root — the cause
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. kick — with a leg

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