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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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 · march · mug · sharp · net · cold · kid · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. mug — a cup
  3. toast — bread
  4. kid — to tease
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — an illness
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. mug — to rob
  11. march — the month
  12. net — for catching
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cold — not warm
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. net — in sport
  20. kid — child
  21. mug — a face
  22. march — music
  23. net — after costs
  24. sharp — clever

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