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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 · coach · stick · safe · cap · last · fan · mark

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cold — an illness
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. last — to go on
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. last — final
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cap — a lid
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. last — finally
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cap — a hat

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