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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. pop — to visit
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rock — a stone
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — crushed
  9. rock — music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pop — soda
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. snap — to click
  14. pop — music
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bank — for money
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bank — for money
  22. ground — a position
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cold — not warm

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