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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. plane — a tool
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pit — a hole
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — in a race
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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