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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: tear · firm · squash · wound · ground · bat · season · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — of the year
  9. firm — a company
  10. squash — to crush
  11. firm — steady
  12. ground — the earth
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. squash — the sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — from crying
  18. firm — decided
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — in sport

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