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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. race — a contest
  4. season — of the year
  5. fine — high quality
  6. season — in sport
  7. lean — to bend
  8. race — humankind
  9. lean — thin
  10. fine — all right
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stem — to come from
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. field — farmland
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. race — the arms race
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  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