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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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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: bay · dip · fall · coach · ground · cold · cell · bowl

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in biology
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ground — a position
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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