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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mug — a cup
  11. swing — music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mug — to rob
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rash — hasty
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rash — a series
  24. mug — a face

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