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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
468
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: toast · cold · charge · rock · lash · sharp · coach · file

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rock — music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. file — a document
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. file — a tool
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. toast — bread
  16. cold — not warm
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. file — a line of people

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