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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: wind · lean · race · bass · cap · coach · club · content

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. race — humankind
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — happy
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. content — the amount
  7. club — for golf
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. lean — to bend
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. club — a group
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for dancing
  22. lean — thin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. content — videos and posts

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