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

Word bank: stand · coach · cold · mine · deal · chest

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stand — to bear
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. deal — to handle
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — a box
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cold — not warm
  18. coach — a trainer

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