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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. ball — a dance
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. root — of a plant
  7. field — farmland
  8. capital — a city
  9. cue — a hint
  10. last — to go on
  11. root — the cause
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. season — of the year
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. ball — a great time
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — money
  23. last — final
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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