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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. 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. coach — a trainer
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. present — a gift
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. field — for sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — farmland
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. land — to come down
  11. present — the time now
  12. field — a subject
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. track — a path
  15. present — there
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. 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