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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: tear · coach · swing · craft · cold · mine · toast · racket

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. craft — a skill
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. swing — in golf
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. swing — to play on
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. craft — boats
  12. toast — bread
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. craft — a handicraft

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