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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. drill — army training
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. root — of a word
  6. season — in sport
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. court — of law
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. court — for sport
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. press — newspapers
  17. root — of a plant
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. root — the cause
  21. season — of the year
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of a king
  24. coach — a trainer

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