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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. bear — the animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. chair — a leader
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tube — the underground
  16. net — for catching
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. field — a subject
  20. bear — the animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. net — in sport
  23. snap — to click
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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