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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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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: racket · rule · coach · race · cold · deal · bay · tube

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tube — a container
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. rule — a law
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rule — government
  11. race — humankind
  12. tube — the underground
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. race — a contest
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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