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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. field — for sport
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wake — a trail
  9. field — a subject
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pop — soda
  12. can — a tin
  13. pop — music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pop — to visit
  20. field — farmland
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. tube — a container
  24. can — a tin

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