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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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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: wound · saw · club · wave · hand · mine · rash · coach

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wound — an injury
  3. club — for golf
  4. rash — a series
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. club — a group
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mine — for digging
  20. hand — help
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rash — on the skin

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