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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bulb · squash · present · kid · coach · bat · hand · game

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. present — a gift
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kid — to tease
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — help
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. present — the time now
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — to crush
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — child
  23. squash — the sport
  24. present — there

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