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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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Word bank
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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: spell · row · coach · sharp · lean · chest · kid · race

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lean — thin
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — the arms race
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — a box
  12. spell — magic
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. spell — letters
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. row — to paddle
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — clever
  19. lean — to bend
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — a contest
  24. row — a line

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