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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: date · game · chip · chest · coach · race · cold · craft

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — boats
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chip — for betting
  13. race — humankind
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chest — a box
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. race — a contest

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