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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: nail · deal · mine · band · object · squash · bat · coach

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. band — a music group
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. squash — to crush
  9. object — to protest
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. band — a ring
  14. object — a thing
  15. deal — to handle
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bat — the animal
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mine — for digging

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