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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. present — there
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. field — a subject
  10. present — the time now
  11. scale — in music
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wake — a trail
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. present — a gift
  17. scale — size or range
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. dip — to sink
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. dip — to dunk

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