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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: bore · bay · straw · cold · coach · pop · ball · pitcher

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pop — music
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pop — soda
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bay — a horse colour

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