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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. field — a subject
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. scale — in music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. straw — a straw man

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