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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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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: coach · hand · ground · season · pop · present · nail · fork

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hand — in cards
  3. present — a gift
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. season — in sport
  7. pop — to visit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fork — in a road
  11. hand — help
  12. pop — music
  13. present — the time now
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pop — soda
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ground — a position
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. ground — the earth
  23. season — of the year
  24. present — there

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