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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 120 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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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: scale · snap · coach · bay · arm · wind · band · cold

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. band — a ring
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. band — a music group
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. snap — to click
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — in music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — not warm
  21. scale — size or range
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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