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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — obliged
  6. tube — a container
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bound — tied together
  10. tear — from crying
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. tear — from crying
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tube — the underground
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. drill — army training
  23. bound — certain
  24. deal — an agreement

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