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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: bat · ball · spell · chip · nail · wind · coach · pop

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — a short time
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spell — letters
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pop — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wind — moving air
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. coach — a trainer

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