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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: lie · hide · coach · cold · kick · club · present · jam

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. club — for golf
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. club — for dancing
  15. kick — in football
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. present — a gift
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. club — a group
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. present — there
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. present — the time now

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