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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · cold · hand · land · mouse · coach · wake · band

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. land — a country
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. land — ground
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. band — a music group
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. land — to come down
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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