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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. field — farmland
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lie — to recline
  12. tube — a container
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. field — a subject
  24. dip — a sauce

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