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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.

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: coach · bat · press · field · track · race · pop · stick

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bat — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pop — soda
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. press — a publisher
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. press — newspapers
  15. race — humankind
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. track — a song
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — to visit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. pop — music

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