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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: wind · kid · coach · root · ball · racket · season · firm

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. firm — a company
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. season — of the year
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — in sport
  8. firm — decided
  9. kid — to tease
  10. root — the cause
  11. kid — child
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. firm — steady
  18. ball — a dance
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ball — a great time

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