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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. suit — to fit
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — wild animals
  10. staff — employees
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. staff — employees
  13. game — a match
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to click
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. field — for sport
  18. suit — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — a subject
  22. suit — clothes
  23. field — farmland
  24. tear — to rip

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