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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.

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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: suit · game · row · coach · field · kid · present · cell

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. suit — clothes
  3. field — a subject
  4. present — a gift
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. row — to paddle
  11. field — for sport
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — in biology
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. present — the time now
  18. suit — in cards
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — farmland
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cell — a phone
  24. present — there

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