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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. race — a contest
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mine — for digging
  12. swing — music
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ground — a position
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. swing — to play on
  24. rush — a thrill

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