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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 · rash · mark · wind · racket · press · rest

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. field — a subject
  2. press — a publisher
  3. rash — a series
  4. wind — moving air
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. mark — a trace
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. press — to push
  15. field — for sport
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rash — hasty
  23. racket — for tennis
  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