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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: coach · cell · bore · swing · key · cold · temple · last

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bore — to drill
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cell — in biology
  7. key — for a lock
  8. swing — in golf
  9. last — finally
  10. key — the most important part
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — to go on
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cold — an illness
  19. last — final
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — a phone
  23. swing — music
  24. coach — a trainer

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