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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: season · sharp · row · staff · root · cold · coach · nail

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. root — of a word
  3. sharp — clever
  4. root — the cause
  5. row — a line
  6. staff — a stick
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. root — of a plant
  11. season — in sport
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — an illness
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. staff — employees
  21. season — of the year
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. staff — employees

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