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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: bear · coach · cap · tear · pitcher · cold · rest · swing

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. swing — music
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rest — a break
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bear — the animal
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cold — not warm
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. tear — from crying

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