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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: roll · coach · straw · field · rest · tear · track · mine

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. track — a path
  3. rest — what's left
  4. tear — to rip
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. field — a subject
  7. roll — a list
  8. mine — for digging
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rest — what's left
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. field — farmland
  18. tear — from crying
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. roll — a cake
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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