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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. content — happy
  8. branch — a division
  9. kid — child
  10. pit — in a race
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. deal — to handle
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bass — the fish
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bass — low music
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. content — the amount

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