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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. field — for sport
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. field — farmland
  6. drill — a practice
  7. club — a group
  8. drill — the tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. club — for dancing
  11. snap — to click
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. club — for golf
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lean — to bend
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. lean — thin
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. drill — army training
  22. field — a subject
  23. bore — to drill
  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