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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. season — of the year
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. field — for sport
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ball — a dance
  10. kick — in football
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. field — a subject
  13. wind — moving air
  14. root — of a word
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. season — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — farmland
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pitcher — a jug

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