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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.

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: saw · ground · coach · dip · chair · ball · tear · cold

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chair — a leader
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. ball — a dance
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ball — a great time
  12. dip — to sink
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. ball — a round shape

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