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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: wound · bat · wave · pitch · coach · squash · club · field

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. field — for sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. club — a group
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. club — for golf
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitch — completely
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. field — farmland
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. club — for dancing
  24. wave — of the sea

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