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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 120 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: coach · field · suit · wound · chip · net · lie · spring

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — for catching
  4. field — for sport
  5. suit — in cards
  6. field — farmland
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — the season
  13. suit — clothes
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. net — after costs
  18. suit — to fit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lie — to recline
  21. spring — of water
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. net — in sport
  24. lie — an untruth

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