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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: coach · leaves · cold · swing · last · charge · sharp · stand

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. cold — an illness
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cold — not warm
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. charge — in control
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stand — to bear
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. last — finally
  24. swing — to play on

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