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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. field — a subject
  4. mug — a face
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mug — a cup
  7. field — for sport
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spring — the season
  10. mug — to rob
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. club — for golf
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. drill — the tool
  19. club — a group
  20. field — farmland
  21. drill — army training
  22. spring — a coil
  23. club — for dancing
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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