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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: cold · object · coach · sharp · lean · pop · kick · band

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pop — to visit
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pop — music
  7. lean — thin
  8. object — to protest
  9. kick — in football
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. band — a ring
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. object — a thing
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pop — soda
  22. object — an aim
  23. lean — to bend
  24. sharp — with an edge

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