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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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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: rest · bat · field · coach · object · lean · deal · sharp

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. lean — to bend
  4. object — an aim
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — farmland
  7. sharp — clever
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rest — a break
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bat — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. lean — thin
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rest — what's left
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. field — for sport

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