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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: toast · clip · coach · roll · pitcher · field · date · can

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. clip — for paper
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. clip — a video
  11. date — the fruit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. toast — bread
  14. field — farmland
  15. can — a tin
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. field — for sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. roll — a list
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. clip — to cut
  22. field — a subject
  23. roll — a cake
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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