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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: wake · bore · cold · race · rash · capital · stem · coach

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bore — to tire
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. race — a contest
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stem — to come from
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — of a plant

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