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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: ground · hide · leaves · coach · bat · press · race · fan

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. press — to push
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ground — a position
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — a publisher
  14. race — humankind
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. race — a contest
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. leaves — to go away

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