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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: sharp · band · cue · pit · cold · straw · coach · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. sharp — clever
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cue — for pool
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cold — not warm
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. perch — the fish
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. band — a music group
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cue — a hint
  22. band — a ring
  23. cue — a signal
  24. pit — in a race

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