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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: coach · cold · can · firm · court · roll · mine · spring

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. can — a tin
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — for digging
  8. can — to be able to
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. court — of a king
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. court — of law
  13. firm — a company
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. spring — of water
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — an illness
  19. spring — the season
  20. firm — steady
  21. court — for sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. firm — decided

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