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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cue — a signal
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. present — a gift
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — for sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. kick — in football
  16. present — there
  17. field — farmland
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cue — a hint
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. field — a subject
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stand — for spectators
  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