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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: squash · coach · cold · band · jam · rock · tube · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. rock — music
  4. band — a music group
  5. spell — letters
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tube — the underground
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. rock — a stone
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. spell — magic
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. tube — a container
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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