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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. rush — hurry
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fine — high quality
  13. scale — in music
  14. band — a music group
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. fine — all right
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — a tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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