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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: wind · key · fall · coach · rush · ground · squash · land

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. fall — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rush — hurry
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — a country
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. squash — to crush
  17. land — to come down
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — a position
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. land — ground
  24. key — in music

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