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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: coach · swing · race · row · tear · mine · lean · date

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. race — the arms race
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lean — thin
  8. row — a line
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — in golf
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. swing — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — to play on
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lean — to bend
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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