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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: game · bore · nail · fan · bark · pitch · spring · coach

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — the season
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bore — to drill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pitch — completely
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — to shout
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. game — a match
  22. spring — of water
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. game — wild animals

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