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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 120 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: hide · coach · spring · mug · cold · stick · vault · perch

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. mug — to rob
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mug — a cup
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. vault — a safe
  18. spring — the season
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — an illness
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — of water
  24. mug — a face

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