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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: lash · perch · coach · cold · plane · pitch · bound · wound

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — tied together
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. plane — a tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bound — certain
  18. perch — the fish
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pitch — completely
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wound — an injury

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