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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 116 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 · swing · tube · squash · cold · wave · kick · bear

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — an illness
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. swing — in golf
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. swing — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bear — the animal
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tube — a container
  22. swing — to play on
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. squash — to crush

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