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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: spell · coach · bore · band · fork · toast · cold · last

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bore — to tire
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. fork — in a road
  11. band — a ring
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. last — to go on
  14. toast — bread
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. last — final

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