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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: sharp · chest · rock · spring · race · coach · fall · net

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. net — for catching
  3. spring — a coil
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rock — music
  10. net — after costs
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. sharp — clever
  16. race — a contest
  17. rock — a stone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — in sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — of water
  24. fall — to drop

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