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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: race · land · cell · pitcher · coach · root · straw · wave

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. wave — a sudden rise
  2. cell — a phone
  3. race — humankind
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — a country
  6. race — a contest
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. root — of a word
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. land — ground
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. race — the arms race
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. root — the cause
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. land — to come down
  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