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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: coach · roll · cold · deal · pitch · season · key · sharp

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pitch — completely
  5. roll — a cake
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. season — in sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. season — of the year
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. key — the most important part
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. key — in music
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. sharp — clever
  23. deal — to handle
  24. cold — an illness

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