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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 120 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: row · object · shower · coach · racket · game · bore · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. game — wild animals
  7. object — an aim
  8. shower — rain
  9. land — ground
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. shower — to wash
  14. game — a match
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. land — a country
  17. bore — to drill
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  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