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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: drill · coach · race · field · board · tear

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. tear — to rip
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. race — the arms race
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — farmland
  11. board — a committee
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — a contest
  15. board — to get on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — humankind
  18. coach — a trainer

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