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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: ball · coach · wake · rock · straw · rush · wound · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — hurry
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ball — a great time
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — music
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. ball — a dance
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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