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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.

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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: firm · craft · ruler · coach · drill · mine · cell · cold

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. firm — a company
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — steady
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. drill — army training
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. craft — boats
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. firm — decided

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