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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. field — for sport
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. field — farmland
  9. rest — what's left
  10. field — a subject
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mine — for digging
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rest — what's left

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