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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 · wave · file · swing · field

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. race — humankind
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — a subject
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. race — the arms race
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a tool

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