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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · coach · tube · firm · row · cold · bass · march

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. firm — decided
  4. bass — low music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tube — a container
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — a company
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. firm — steady
  16. march — the month
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. march — music
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — not warm
  22. tube — the underground
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. tube — in a tire

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