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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · wound · coach · bowl · nail · race · leaves · capital

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. last — to go on
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wound — an injury
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. race — a contest
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. capital — money
  15. last — final
  16. wound — an injury
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. last — finally
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. leaves — to go away
  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