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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 116 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 · coach · game · pound · fine · file · snap · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fine — all right
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. race — a contest
  5. file — a tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. file — a document
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spell — a short time
  14. snap — to click
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spell — letters
  18. game — a match
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fine — high quality
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pound — a weight
  23. race — humankind
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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