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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: suit · cold · content · fan · coach · march · bound · press

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cold — not warm
  3. march — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. suit — in cards
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. suit — clothes
  13. content — the amount
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — tied together
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — the month
  23. press — a publisher
  24. suit — to fit

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