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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. drill — a practice
  4. band — a music group
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. track — a song
  7. season — in sport
  8. pound — a weight
  9. season — of the year
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. track — a path
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. drill — army training
  20. band — a ring
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. track — to keep track

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