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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: foot · mine · coach · wound · stem · mug · bat · season

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. foot — a measure
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bat — the animal
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. mug — to rob
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wound — an injury
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. mug — a face
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. foot — the bottom

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