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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 116 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: coach · bowl · rush · land · wind · staff · ground · mark

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. staff — employees
  11. wind — moving air
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. mark — a trace
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — crushed
  16. staff — employees
  17. ground — the earth
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ground — a position
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. mark — a grade
  23. land — a country
  24. mark — to pay attention

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