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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: rush · ground · kick · coach · wound · prune · leaves · bat

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. ground — a position
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. kick — in football
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rush — hurry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bat — the animal
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bat — for baseball

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