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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: cell · wound · rush · file · coach · race · chest · track

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. track — a path
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. race — the arms race
  7. track — to keep track
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. race — humankind
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rush — hurry
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chest — a box
  19. race — a contest
  20. track — a song
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. file — a document
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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