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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 · club · pitch · squash · wake · rest · game · cold

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cold — not warm
  7. squash — the sport
  8. game — a match
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rest — what's left
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rest — what's left
  16. squash — to crush
  17. pitch — completely
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rest — a break
  20. club — a group
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cold — an illness

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