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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  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 — farmland
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. field — for sport
  6. land — a country
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ball — a dance
  9. land — to come down
  10. field — a subject
  11. ball — a great time
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — to wash
  16. saw — the tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — rain
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. saw — the tool
  22. land — ground
  23. calf — a young animal
  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