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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. field — for sport
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cap — a hat
  9. chip — to eat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. field — farmland
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — a subject
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cap — a lid
  19. rest — a break
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. mine — belonging to me

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