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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · wind · jam · coach · land · shower · scale · squash

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. land — to come down
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — a country
  9. squash — to crush
  10. shower — to wash
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. squash — the sport
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. scale — for weighing

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