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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: board · mark · sharp · dip · track · cold · last · coach

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. last — finally
  6. board — to get on
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cold — an illness
  10. track — a song
  11. mark — a trace
  12. board — a committee
  13. cold — not warm
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. track — a path
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. sharp — clever
  18. dip — to sink
  19. last — final
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. last — to go on
  23. mark — a grade
  24. sharp — exactly

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