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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: lean · content · coach · mark · drill · ground · wake · cold

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. lean — thin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mark — a grade
  9. content — the amount
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. content — happy
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. drill — army training
  16. ground — a position
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wake — a trail
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. lean — to bend
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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