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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · bat · season · board · stem · coach · kid · shower

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. bat — the animal
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. shower — to wash
  6. board — a committee
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. key — for a lock
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. board — to get on
  12. season — of the year
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. kid — child
  16. key — the most important part
  17. shower — rain
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. season — in sport
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stem — to come from
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. key — in music

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