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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. field — a subject
  8. cell — a phone
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — in biology
  17. snap — to click
  18. cap — a hat
  19. field — farmland
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cap — of ice
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wake — before a funeral

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