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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: content · band · net · saw · pit · coach · field · bore

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. field — for sport
  3. content — happy
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bore — to tire
  9. net — after costs
  10. band — a music group
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. band — a ring
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bore — to drill
  19. net — for catching
  20. content — the amount
  21. pit — in a race
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. saw — 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