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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: last · content · row · spring · race · prune · chest · coach

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — humankind
  7. chest — of your body
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. last — finally
  11. content — the amount
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. race — a contest
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. content — happy
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. race — the arms race
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. row — a line
  24. last — final

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