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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 120 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: wind · coach · net · can · race · prune · hand · pit

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. can — a tin
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. can — to be able to
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. net — for catching
  12. race — humankind
  13. net — after costs
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. net — in sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pit — a hole
  19. hand — help
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. race — a contest
  24. can — a tin

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