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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · cold · suit · coach · band · row · cabinet · march

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. suit — clothes
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cold — not warm
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. march — music
  9. row — to paddle
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — the month
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. march — the month
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. suit — in cards
  18. cold — an illness
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a music group
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. row — a line
  24. cold — the Cold War

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