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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: race · spell · coach · sharp · snap · land · lie · rule

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spell — a short time
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rule — government
  5. land — ground
  6. race — a contest
  7. land — a country
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — humankind
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spell — magic
  13. snap — to click
  14. land — to come down
  15. spell — letters
  16. lie — to recline
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — clever
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rule — a law
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rule — to rule out

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