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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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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 · bass · tube · mate · wound · board · staff · coach

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mate — to breed
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bass — low music
  7. staff — employees
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. staff — employees
  10. board — to get on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tube — the underground
  14. board — a committee
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bass — the fish
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mate — a friend
  24. tube — a container

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