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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: game · coach · cold · staff · fan · bore · season · fall

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. fall — to drop
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. staff — a stick
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fall — the season
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — in sport
  13. bore — to tire
  14. season — of the year
  15. bore — to drill
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. staff — employees
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — to add flavour

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