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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. key — in music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. key — for a lock
  9. field — farmland
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pop — music
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. jam — in traffic

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