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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: cold · board · pitcher · fan · rash · foot · coach · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. squash — to crush
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. board — a committee
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rash — a series
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. squash — the sport
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. board — to get on

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