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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.

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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: bowl · mine · hand · band · prune · coach · calf · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. mine — for digging
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — to trim
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a ring
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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