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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: last · racket · shower · wake · field · net · coach · mug

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mug — to rob
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mug — a face
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. last — final
  12. net — in sport
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wake — a trail
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mug — a cup
  19. field — farmland
  20. net — after costs
  21. shower — rain
  22. field — for sport
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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