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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: fine · bat · season · bound · mark · ball · coach · cold

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bound — obliged
  8. season — in sport
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fine — all right
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bound — certain
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mark — a trace
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. season — of the year
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. bat — in an idiom

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