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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: hide · coach · cold · root · wound · rest · club · saw

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. rest — what's left
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. root — the cause
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. club — for golf
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rest — what's left
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rest — a break
  12. cold — an illness
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — a group
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. root — of a word
  20. wound — an injury
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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