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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. spring — a coil
  8. field — for sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. spring — of water
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rush — hurry
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. field — farmland
  22. spring — the season
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pass — a permit

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