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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: wound · rush · saw · mug · present · cold · chair · coach

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mug — a cup
  9. present — the time now
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. present — a gift
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mug — to rob
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mug — a face
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — an illness
  22. present — there
  23. wound — an injury
  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