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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: bay · coach · rash · fall · clip · field · board · cell

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rash — a series
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. field — a subject
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fall — the season
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. field — for sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cell — a phone
  15. clip — a video
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. board — a committee
  22. field — farmland
  23. board — to get on
  24. coach — a trainer

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