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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: coach · cold · ball · saw · rush · leaves · drill · suit

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. rush — hurry
  9. ball — a dance
  10. drill — the tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. suit — clothes
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. drill — army training
  17. suit — in cards
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. suit — to fit
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. ball — a great time
  24. drill — a practice

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