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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: coach · club · racket · race · snap · mine · pit · sharp

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pit — a hole
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. pit — in a race
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. club — for golf
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. mine — for digging
  16. club — a group
  17. sharp — clever
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. club — for dancing
  21. race — humankind
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. sharp — with an edge

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