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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. track — to keep track
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — of water
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. track — a song
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. track — a path
  12. deal — to handle
  13. spring — the season
  14. stand — to bear
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cold — an illness
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. spring — a coil

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