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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
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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: rash · band · can · mine · swing · plane · cold · coach

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. can — a tin
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. swing — to play on
  13. band — a music group
  14. mine — for digging
  15. can — a tin
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. can — to be able to
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. swing — music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. swing — in golf
  24. band — a ring

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