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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's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bass — low music
  4. lean — to bend
  5. staff — employees
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lean — thin
  8. fall — to drop
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bass — the fish
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. fall — the season
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pass — to spend time

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