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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: rest · kid · coach · fork · rock · spring · tube · pitch

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — a container
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — of water
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spring — a coil
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitch — completely

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