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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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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: cold · straw · safe · pound · band · root · face · coach

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. band — a ring
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. root — of a plant
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. face — part of the head
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. root — the cause
  19. cold — not warm
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. root — of a word
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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