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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: net · cue · wind · file · mine · coach · club · season

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. season — of the year
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — in sport
  7. club — a group
  8. file — a document
  9. club — for golf
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. season — in sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a tool
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. cue — a hint
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cue — for pool
  19. club — for dancing
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cue — a signal
  24. file — a line of people

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