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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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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. race — the arms race
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pound — a weight
  6. staff — a stick
  7. prune — to trim
  8. craft — boats
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — a video
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — to cut
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. clip — for paper
  20. content — happy
  21. race — humankind
  22. craft — a skill
  23. race — a contest
  24. staff — employees

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