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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. face — part of the head
  3. swing — to play on
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — for sport
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. fork — in a road
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. lean — thin
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. field — farmland
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. vault — a safe
  15. field — a subject
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. lean — to bend
  19. face — to point toward
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. face — to confront
  24. fork — a garden 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