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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mate — a friend
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rash — hasty
  6. field — farmland
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mate — to breed
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rash — a series

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