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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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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 · net · suit · game · ground · chair · field · shower

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. suit — in cards
  4. net — for catching
  5. game — wild animals
  6. ground — a position
  7. shower — rain
  8. suit — to fit
  9. net — in sport
  10. chair — a leader
  11. shower — to wash
  12. field — for sport
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — a subject
  17. net — after costs
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. suit — clothes
  21. ground — the earth
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — a match

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