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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 120 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: mark · race · cold · straw · coach · field · fine · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. field — for sport
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. fine — high quality
  7. field — a subject
  8. mate — a friend
  9. race — the arms race
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — all right
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. race — a contest
  16. field — farmland
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. race — humankind
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cold — not warm

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