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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: prune · coach · race · temple · shower · sharp · straw · cell

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. race — the arms race
  7. shower — rain
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. shower — to wash
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. sharp — clever
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cell — in biology
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cell — a phone
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. prune — to trim
  23. race — humankind
  24. straw — dry grass

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