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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: chip · squash · bat · deal · coach · band · spell · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chip — for betting
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. squash — the sport
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wake — a trail
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chip — to eat
  20. spell — magic
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. band — a music group
  24. deal — to handle

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