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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.

Words on the sheet
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: file · kid · band · ground · coach · bat · squash · staff

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. staff — a stick
  3. band — a music group
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — child
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. file — a line of people
  18. band — a ring
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — the animal
  21. staff — employees
  22. file — a document
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. kid — to tease

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