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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.

Make a worksheet

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: roll · stand · craft · march · wound · wake · cold · coach

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — to bear
  6. cold — not warm
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. craft — boats
  11. march — music
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. roll — a cake
  19. craft — a skill
  20. roll — a list
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wake — a trail

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