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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. spring — the season
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rock — a stone
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rock — music
  11. field — farmland
  12. scale — size or range
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. field — for sport
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. spring — of water
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — a subject
  22. scale — in music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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