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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: spring · squash · present · wind · tear · toast · nail · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. toast — bread
  4. wind — moving air
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. tear — from crying
  7. squash — to crush
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. spring — a coil
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. present — a gift
  15. tear — from crying
  16. present — the time now
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. squash — the sport
  21. present — there
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. tear — to rip

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