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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · cold · coach · spring · band · saw · shower · pit

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. spring — the season
  4. saw — the tool
  5. spring — of water
  6. pit — in a race
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pit — a hole
  9. object — to protest
  10. cold — an illness
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — rain
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. shower — to wash
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cold — not warm
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. object — an aim
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. object — a thing

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