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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 116 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: pit · coach · rush · mug · field · fan · cold · rest

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rest — what's left
  3. field — for sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mug — to rob
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — a subject
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rest — a break
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mug — a face
  23. field — farmland
  24. cold — the Cold War

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