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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. field — farmland
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. object — a thing
  9. key — the most important part
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. object — to protest
  13. spring — a coil
  14. object — an aim
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. spring — of water
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. key — in music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — exactly

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