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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: coach · present · swing · fan · capital · race · date · prune

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. swing — music
  6. race — a contest
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — a gift
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. present — there
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. present — the time now
  17. date — the fruit
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. capital — a city
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. capital — money

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