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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 120 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: hand · coach · field · track · bat · plane · file · bore

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. hand — in cards
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — help
  10. bat — the animal
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bore — to drill
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. field — for sport
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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