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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 120 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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. court — of law
  5. bass — the fish
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. row — a line
  9. field — a subject
  10. lie — to recline
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. row — to paddle
  13. field — farmland
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. court — of a king
  16. bass — low music
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. court — for sport
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. kid — child
  22. field — for sport
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bass — the instrument

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