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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: ball · shower · swing · lean · roll · coach · tube · wave

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. lean — to bend
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. roll — a list
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. swing — in golf
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. ball — a great time
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. ball — a dance
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. roll — a cake
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — music

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