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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: coach · spring · racket · wake · perch · band · content · field

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — of water
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — farmland
  9. perch — the fish
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. field — a subject
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — for sport
  16. content — the amount
  17. band — a ring
  18. wake — a trail
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — the season
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. content — happy
  24. band — a rubber band

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