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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: pound · track · cap · coach · toast · bear · trunk · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bear — the animal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bear — the animal
  7. track — a path
  8. cap — a hat
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. cap — of ice
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — an illness

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