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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: rock · coach · perch · date · cold · track · cell · net

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rock — a stone
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cell — a phone
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. track — to keep track
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cell — in biology
  9. net — after costs
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. net — for catching
  12. track — a path
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rock — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. net — in sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — an illness

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