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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. present — there
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spring — the season
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pass — a permit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rush — hurry
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. present — the time now
  21. fall — to drop
  22. present — a gift
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — for sport

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