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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spell — magic
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spell — letters
  10. bass — low music
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pound — a weight
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. capital — a city
  18. stand — to bear
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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