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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · trunk · swing · field · rock · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. 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. kid — to tease
  2. rock — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. field — for sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. swing — music
  10. field — a subject
  11. kid — child
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rock — a stone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. field — farmland
  18. 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