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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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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: press · snap · field · track · wake · tear · coach · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. track — to keep track
  3. press — to push
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. track — a path
  9. cell — a phone
  10. track — a song
  11. snap — to click
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — to rip
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. press — a publisher
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — farmland
  23. wake — a trail
  24. press — newspapers

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