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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 · cold · nail · ground · chip · band · coach · rush

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chip — to eat
  4. band — a music group
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cold — not warm
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. band — a ring
  19. chip — for betting
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — a supporter

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