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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: hand · season · straw · net · prune · key · race · coach

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — humankind
  6. prune — to trim
  7. key — in music
  8. race — a contest
  9. hand — help
  10. season — in sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. net — after costs
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. key — the most important part
  16. prune — to trim
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. net — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. key — for a lock
  24. coach — a trainer

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