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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: ground · mine · land · lash · root · squash · kid · coach

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. kid — to tease
  7. root — of a word
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — to crush
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — to come down
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. land — a country
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kid — child
  17. root — the cause
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ground — the earth
  22. squash — the sport
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — ground

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