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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: fan · race · coach · pop · wound · row · hand · stand

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. race — a contest
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. race — humankind
  13. pop — soda
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — a line
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pop — music
  18. stand — to bear
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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