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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: swing · row · cold · coach · rash · ruler · march · pit

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pit — in a race
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. pit — a hole
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — a series
  24. row — a line

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