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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kick — in football
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — for sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cap — a lid
  16. field — farmland
  17. cap — a hat
  18. present — there
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cap — of ice
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wake — a trail
  24. coach — a trainer

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