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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: dip · mark · cold · drill · coach · rock · hand · wind

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — music
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. dip — to sink
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rock — a stone
  19. drill — army training
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rock — to move gently

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