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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 116 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 · wound · track · wind · bulb · cold · dip · press

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cold — an illness
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. press — to push
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. press — newspapers
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bulb — for light
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — an injury
  23. press — a publisher
  24. dip — to dunk

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