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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: kick · trunk · cold · saw · hand · rush · coach · stand

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. saw — the tool
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. hand — in cards
  13. stand — to bear
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. kick — in football
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. kick — with a leg

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