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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 120 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: squash · fall · wound · game · coach · foot · row · hand

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. fall — the season
  4. row — to paddle
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — wild animals
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — a match
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. squash — to crush
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. foot — a measure
  16. hand — help
  17. row — a line
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. squash — the sport
  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