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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: craft · rock · coach · cold · mine · track · hand · lean

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hand — help
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. craft — boats
  5. track — a song
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — a path
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. track — to keep track
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — in cards
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rock — music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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