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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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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: swing · bank · coach · bowl · date · kid · hand · root

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. swing — music
  5. root — of a word
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bank — for money
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. swing — in golf
  11. kid — to tease
  12. hand — in cards
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. root — the cause
  18. kid — child
  19. bank — of a river
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bank — for money
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. hand — help
  24. date — the fruit

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