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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 116 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: wound · game · track · bat · dip · rash · coach · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rash — a series
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rash — hasty
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bat — the animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. shower — to wash
  19. track — a path
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bat — in an idiom

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