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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. root — of a plant
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. root — of a word
  9. track — a path
  10. field — for sport
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. field — farmland
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — a subject
  16. root — the cause
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. track — a song
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stand — on your feet

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