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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 120 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
468
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: march · racket · cold · pitcher · spell · coach · band · bear

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — magic
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. march — the month
  12. bear — the animal
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. march — music
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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