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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 120 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: deal · cold · wind · wound · march · coach · ball · cabinet

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. march — music
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. march — the month
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. march — the month
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wound — an injury
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wind — moving air

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