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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: rule · straw · row · coach · race · track · cap · toast

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cap — of ice
  3. track — a path
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cap — a hat
  6. track — to keep track
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. row — a line
  9. rule — a law
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cap — a lid
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. race — humankind
  15. rule — government
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. row — to paddle
  24. coach — a trainer

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