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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: field · rule · coach · cell · ground · racket · band · saw

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. rule — government
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ground — a position
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. band — a music group
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. ground — crushed
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — the earth
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — farmland
  22. cell — a phone
  23. band — a ring
  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