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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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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: saw · kick · field · date · rest · straw · tube · coach

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. date — the fruit
  5. tube — a container
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. field — for sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. field — a subject
  13. saw — the tool
  14. kick — in football
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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