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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. track — a path
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. track — to keep track
  8. net — for catching
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. band — a ring
  13. net — in sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. season — of the year
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wake — a trail
  18. track — a song
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. net — after costs
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — a straw man

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