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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: field · nail · coach · snap · present · hand · mate · stock

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. snap — to click
  3. present — there
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hand — help
  7. present — the time now
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mate — a friend
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mate — to breed
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. field — a subject
  16. present — a gift
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stock — goods
  21. mate — a partner
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — for sport
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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