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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. perch — the fish
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cold — not warm
  5. staff — employees
  6. pass — a permit
  7. track — a song
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. cold — an illness
  16. track — to keep track
  17. staff — employees
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. track — a path
  20. staff — a stick
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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