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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bank — for money
  6. race — a contest
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — humankind
  10. mine — for digging
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. sharp — clever
  16. race — the arms race
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fork — in a road
  24. sharp — exactly

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