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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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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: drill · chest · content · coach · cold · pass · cap · lash

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pass — a permit
  6. content — happy
  7. drill — army training
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cap — a hat
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cap — a lid
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lash — to lash out

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