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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: rest · club · lean · coach · can · cold · mark · cell

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. lean — to bend
  3. club — a group
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rest — what's left
  6. can — a tin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — to be able to
  10. lean — thin
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. can — a tin
  14. rest — a break
  15. club — for dancing
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — a phone
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. club — for golf
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mark — a grade
  24. cold — the Cold War

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