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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: bat · fine · race · spring · bear · mark · lean · coach

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fine — all right
  3. mark — a grade
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fine — high quality
  11. lean — thin
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bear — the animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bear — the animal
  20. race — the arms race
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. race — humankind
  23. lean — to bend
  24. race — a contest

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