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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: coach · cold · race · last · field · deal · wave · bulb

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bulb — for light
  3. field — for sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. field — a subject
  10. race — a contest
  11. deal — to handle
  12. last — to go on
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. race — humankind
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — finally
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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