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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: cold · bound · hide · pitch · wound · coach · pop · rest

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bound — obliged
  9. rest — a break
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — soda
  22. wound — an injury
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitch — completely

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