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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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. season — to add flavour
  4. pop — soda
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cold — an illness
  9. season — of the year
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pop — music
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spell — letters
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. tube — a container
  16. pop — to visit
  17. branch — a division
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. season — in sport

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