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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · march · wave · cold · tear · coach

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tear — from crying
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — for sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. march — the month
  15. court — of a king
  16. cold — not warm
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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