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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · wake · cue · coach · squash · wound · straw · band

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. ground — a position
  6. wake — a trail
  7. band — a ring
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cue — for pool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — to crush
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cue — a signal
  24. ground — the earth

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