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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: coach · rule · cold · field · club · cabinet · lash · rest

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. rule — government
  8. rest — a break
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. club — for golf
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rest — what's left

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