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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: club · cap · race · tear · wound · coach · stick · land

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. race — humankind
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. race — a contest
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — from crying
  18. club — for golf
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. race — the arms race
  22. land — to come down
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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