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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: rock · tear · pound · coach · mouse · cold · leaves · mark

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. rock — music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. tear — to rip
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mark — a grade
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. pound — a weight
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mark — a trace

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