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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 120 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. present — the time now
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — there
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. rock — music
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. present — a gift

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