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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
468
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: spring · lie · roll · coach · stick · cold · season · drill

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. drill — army training
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. roll — a list
  5. drill — a practice
  6. season — of the year
  7. spring — the season
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lie — to recline
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. roll — a cake
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — of water
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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