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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: fall · hand · cue · race · bass · racket · coach · cold

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hand — help
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — the season
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. cue — a hint
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cue — for pool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cue — a signal

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