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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: bass · straw · court · coach · face · cold · bound · pass

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — certain
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. court — of law
  8. bound — tied together
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. face — to confront
  11. court — for sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. court — of a king
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pass — a permit
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bound — obliged

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