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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. field — a subject
  3. capital — money
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. swing — to play on
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — a city
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. swing — music
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. swing — in golf
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pass — a permit
  23. field — for sport
  24. wake — before a funeral

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