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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: face · mark · nail · cold · roll · row · coach · dip

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mark — a grade
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. roll — a cake
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. cold — an illness
  16. row — to paddle
  17. dip — to sink
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. face — part of the head
  20. roll — a list
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. row — a line
  24. cold — not warm

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