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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: band · jam · kid · coach · spring · bat · lash · snap

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bat — the animal
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. band — a music group
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spring — the season
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. band — a ring
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — of water
  24. jam — in traffic

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