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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: cabinet · kid · coach · bear · rule · wound · mine · track

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. track — a song
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kid — to tease
  13. track — a path
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. track — to keep track
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mine — for digging

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