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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 · wound · coach · kick · rule · rock · season · jam

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. rock — music
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rock — a stone
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. fall — to drop
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. season — of the year
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kick — in football
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. rule — a law
  20. season — in sport
  21. rule — government
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fall — the season
  24. jam — a tight spot

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