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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · bark · mine · wound · chest · coach · racket · swing

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a great time
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bark — to shout
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chest — of your body
  21. swing — music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — of a tree

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