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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: cell · hand · coach · cabinet · cold · pop · lean · roll

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. hand — help
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lean — to bend
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lean — thin
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. roll — a list
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pop — music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. hand — in cards
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. pop — soda

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