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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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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: coach · pitcher · bowl · race · band · squash · club · wind

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for golf
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a music group
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. race — the arms race
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. club — a group
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. race — humankind
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bowl — a football final

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