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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mate — a friend
  3. staff — a stick
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. staff — employees
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — a subject
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitch — completely
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mate — to breed
  13. court — of a king
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. staff — employees
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. field — for sport

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