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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: mine · shower · club · mug · coach · stand · prune · bat

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bat — the animal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a face
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. club — for golf
  15. shower — rain
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. club — a group
  24. shower — to wash

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