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

Word bank: club · cap · race · tear · wound · coach

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cap — of ice
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. club — a group
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cap — a lid
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. club — for golf
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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