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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: race · rash · coach · file · club · straw · stand · pitch

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. file — a tool
  8. club — for golf
  9. rash — a series
  10. club — a group
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. pitch — completely
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. race — the arms race
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. file — a document
  24. pitch — a sports field

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