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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pit — a hole
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — in golf
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. face — to confront
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. swing — music
  19. face — to point toward
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fork — in a road

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