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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 124 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — to come down
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. field — a subject
  7. land — ground
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. field — for sport
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — farmland
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. stand — to bear
  21. prune — to trim
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — a country
  24. staff — a stick

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