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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. field — for sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — a group
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. club — for dancing
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. band — a music group
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. tear — to rip
  17. field — farmland
  18. prune — to trim
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. club — for golf
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. band — a ring
  24. field — a subject

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