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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: toast · bowl · coach · present · jam · spring · mark · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. present — there
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. present — the time now
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. spring — of water
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a grade
  15. present — a gift
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — an illness
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. toast — bread
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bowl — to roll

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