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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 120 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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spell — letters
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — a match
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. foot — a measure
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — wild animals
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. field — farmland
  19. stand — to bear
  20. field — a subject
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. field — for sport
  24. spell — magic

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