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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. degree — an amount
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. degree — from a university
  8. key — the most important part
  9. season — in sport
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. key — in music
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. key — for a lock
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. drill — a practice
  17. toast — bread
  18. field — farmland
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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