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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. lean — thin
  5. pop — music
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pop — to visit
  8. field — farmland
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pop — soda
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. prune — the fruit

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