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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
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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: cold · coach · rash · mark · tear · cap · fan · pitcher

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mark — a grade

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