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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. toast — the most admired
  3. band — a ring
  4. field — for sport
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. band — a music group
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. ground — a position
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. field — farmland
  19. toast — bread
  20. kid — to tease
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. kid — child
  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