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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: coach · field · mine · cap · track · bat · rock · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. track — a song
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cap — a lid
  9. field — a subject
  10. rock — music
  11. cap — of ice
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. field — for sport
  17. pit — a hole
  18. field — farmland
  19. rock — a stone
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. coach — a trainer

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