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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fork · coach · cold · charge · saw · race · sharp · leaves

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. charge — electricity
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. race — humankind
  8. charge — in control
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — not warm
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. race — a contest
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. race — the arms race
  23. charge — a price
  24. cold — the Cold War

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