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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: wake · field · staff · press · coach · face · row · drill

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. staff — a stick
  3. field — a subject
  4. face — part of the head
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. press — a publisher
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. staff — employees
  9. wake — a trail
  10. staff — employees
  11. face — to point toward
  12. field — farmland
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. row — to paddle
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. drill — the tool
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. face — to confront
  22. drill — army training
  23. row — a line
  24. drill — a practice

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