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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.

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: mine · spell · wound · cold · dip · coach · firm · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wound — an injury
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. firm — a company
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wound — an injury
  13. dip — to sink
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. spell — letters
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. firm — steady
  22. spell — magic
  23. firm — decided
  24. rule — government

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