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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: nail · coach · track · swing · racket · drill · sharp · spring

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. spring — the season
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. track — a path
  5. swing — in golf
  6. track — to keep track
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. spring — a coil
  9. drill — army training
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. swing — to play on
  13. sharp — clever
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. track — a song
  21. drill — a practice
  22. swing — music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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