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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: race · lash · bat · sharp · saw · band · board · coach

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bat — the animal
  5. sharp — clever
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. board — to get on
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. board — a committee
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. race — the arms race
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. race — humankind
  24. lash — to lash out

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