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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 116 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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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: cell · row · present · coach · march · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. fine — all right
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. row — a line
  8. cell — a phone
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. present — a gift
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. present — there
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. present — the time now
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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