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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: fork · prune · swing · squash · coach · chest · ground · object

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. swing — to play on
  3. object — an aim
  4. swing — in golf
  5. chest — of your body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fork — in a road
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. squash — to crush
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. object — to protest
  14. ground — crushed
  15. chest — a box
  16. ground — a position
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ground — the earth
  19. object — a thing
  20. swing — music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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