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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: wound · snap · season · race · deal · leaves · coach · trunk

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. snap — to click
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. season — in sport
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. season — of the year
  17. deal — to handle
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. race — humankind
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. leaves — lets stay

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