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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 116 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: coach · cold · content · squash · lie · hand · kid · pit

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. hand — help
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. lie — to recline
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pit — in a race
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. content — the amount
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. kid — to tease
  18. content — happy
  19. kid — child
  20. squash — the sport
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pit — a hole
  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