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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · mark · present · coach · wound · field · snap · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. present — there
  3. chair — a leader
  4. field — for sport
  5. pop — music
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pop — to visit
  8. field — a subject
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. present — the time now
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. field — farmland
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. snap — to click
  18. mark — a grade
  19. present — a gift
  20. wound — an injury
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mark — a trace
  24. chair — to sit on

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