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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: date · can · drill · coach · season · hand · field · present

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. season — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. field — farmland
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. season — of the year
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. field — for sport
  10. date — the fruit
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — the tool
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. field — a subject
  19. can — a tin
  20. drill — army training
  21. present — there
  22. drill — a practice
  23. can — a tin
  24. hand — in cards

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