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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: cold · file · row · coach · ball · pound · rush · bore

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pound — a weight
  3. file — a line of people
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ball — a dance
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. row — a line
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. file — a tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bore — to drill
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cold — not warm
  18. file — a document
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bore — to tire
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rush — hurry
  24. ball — a great time

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