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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: wake · cold · toast · season · kid · mine · coach · charge

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. kid — child
  8. wake — a trail
  9. charge — electricity
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. charge — in control
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kid — to tease
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. charge — a price
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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