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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. field — a subject
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. spring — of water
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rash — hasty
  10. swing — to play on
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. swing — in golf
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — a series
  18. swing — music
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pass — a permit
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. coach — a trainer

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