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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: pop · calf · coach · wound · march · kid · roll · ground

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. ground — a position
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. roll — a cake
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — crushed
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pop — music
  11. kid — to tease
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. march — music
  15. ground — the earth
  16. march — the month
  17. roll — a list
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — soda
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pop — to visit
  24. coach — a trainer

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