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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.

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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: coach · season · bay · mate · staff · pound · trunk · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. season — of the year
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. staff — employees
  21. mate — a friend
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. staff — a stick
  24. trunk — of a tree

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