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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: charge · cell · row · mark · coach · cold · stick · rush

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — a phone
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. charge — in control
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cell — in biology
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rush — hurry
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. row — to paddle
  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