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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
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: cold · ball · drill · spell · bass · coach · press · mug

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. spell — letters
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. spell — a short time
  9. ball — a great time
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — to rob
  15. press — to push
  16. spell — magic
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mug — a cup
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. press — newspapers
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cold — not warm
  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