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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: firm · spring · file · snap · court · race · coach · squash

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. file — a tool
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. court — of law
  6. spring — a coil
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. snap — to click
  10. file — a line of people
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. squash — the sport
  17. firm — a company
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. file — a document
  21. spring — the season
  22. race — the arms race
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — decided

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