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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 116 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: staff · cold · spell · straw · sharp · pitcher · coach · present

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spell — magic
  5. present — there
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. sharp — clever
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. staff — employees
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. present — a gift
  20. spell — letters
  21. present — the time now
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  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