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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: coach · lash · rest · game · foot · last · ground · fan

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — a position
  6. game — wild animals
  7. last — finally
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. foot — a measure
  10. game — a match
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. rest — what's left
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rest — a break
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ground — crushed
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ground — the earth

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