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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: cold · band · coach · roll · lie · hand · pit · bear

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pit — a hole
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. roll — a cake
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. band — a music group
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. band — a ring
  19. bear — the animal
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. roll — a list
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  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