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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: field · craft · wake · coach · cap · tube · ground · drill

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cap — of ice
  8. craft — boats
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. ground — the earth
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ground — a position
  16. tube — a container
  17. drill — army training
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. field — for sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. drill — the tool

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