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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: mine · sharp · game · cold · key · ruler · coach · drill

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cold — an illness
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — the tool
  10. key — in music
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. key — for a lock
  13. sharp — clever
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. key — the most important part
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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