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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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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: hand · ground · game · press · lash · season · coach · racket

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. game — wild animals
  6. press — a publisher
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. hand — in cards
  9. season — in sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. hand — help
  15. press — to push
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. game — a match
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. season — of the year
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — part of the body

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