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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: coach · bat · bore · nail · land · suit · content · wake

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. suit — in cards
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bore — to tire
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. land — ground
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. content — happy
  15. bore — to drill
  16. suit — to fit
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. content — the amount
  20. wake — a trail
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. content — videos and posts

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