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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. key — in music
  3. track — a song
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — the arms race
  6. last — final
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. clip — to cut
  9. track — to keep track
  10. race — humankind
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. mine — for digging
  13. track — a path
  14. key — the most important part
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. key — for a lock
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. last — finally
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — a video
  23. race — a contest
  24. last — to go on

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