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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: race · coach · toast · cold · stem · snap

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. snap — to click
  5. cold — not warm
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. race — the arms race
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stem — to come from
  18. toast — bread

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