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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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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: snap · track · cold · coach · race · cue · charge · chair

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. charge — in control
  7. cold — an illness
  8. snap — to click
  9. track — a path
  10. cue — for pool
  11. chair — a leader
  12. charge — a price
  13. cold — not warm
  14. track — a song
  15. charge — electricity
  16. track — to keep track
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. race — a contest
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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