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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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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: racket · toast · cold · fall · calf · hand · coach · root

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. toast — bread
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — the season
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. root — the cause
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cold — not warm
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. root — of a word
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. root — of a plant
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. calf — a young animal

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