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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: drill · coach · race · field · board · tear · wind · fork

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. drill — a practice
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fork — in a road
  6. drill — the tool
  7. board — a committee
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. drill — army training
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. board — to get on
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. field — a subject
  18. tear — from crying
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. field — farmland
  21. wind — moving air
  22. race — the arms race
  23. field — for sport
  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