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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: rush · chest · band · coach · bowl · wave · cold · spell

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rush — hurry
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a music group
  13. chest — a box
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wave — of the sea

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