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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kid — child
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bound — certain
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bound — tied together
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rush — hurry
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cold — an illness
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cap — a hat
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bound — obliged
  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