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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: fan · fine · pass · straw · cold · coach · board · spring

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fine — high quality
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fine — all right
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. spring — the season
  13. board — a committee
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — not warm
  23. board — to get on
  24. cold — an illness

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