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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: squash · coach · pop · ground · prune · nail · present · fall

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. present — a gift
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. fall — to drop
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pop — soda
  11. present — there
  12. present — the time now
  13. ground — a position
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. prune — to trim
  16. ground — the earth
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pop — to visit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pop — music
  23. fall — the season
  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