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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pit — in a race
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pit — a hole
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — a subject
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. field — farmland
  19. track — a song
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. field — for sport
  23. track — a path
  24. mate — a partner

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