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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a music group
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. dip — to sink
  11. march — the month
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. content — the amount
  16. row — a line
  17. march — music
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. band — a ring
  21. cold — an illness
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — happy
  24. row — a quarrel

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