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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. mug — a face
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. staff — employees
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mug — a cup
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mug — to rob
  21. game — a match
  22. field — for sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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