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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: fan · cap · coach · hand · rash · land · squash · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rash — a series
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — a country
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. land — ground
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. squash — the sport
  16. cap — a lid
  17. land — to come down
  18. cap — of ice
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cap — a hat
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rash — hasty

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