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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. staff — a stick
  3. race — humankind
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — the animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. race — a contest
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wound — an injury
  20. race — the arms race
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. net — for catching
  24. sharp — with an edge

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