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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stand — to bear
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. firm — decided
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mine — for digging
  12. firm — a company
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. firm — steady
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. stand — on your feet

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