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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: cold · club · last · jam · season · shower · coach · fall

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. club — a group
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. fall — the season
  8. season — of the year
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. club — for golf
  15. shower — to wash
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. shower — rain
  18. fall — to drop
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — final

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