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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: root · chest · can · game · field · coach · cell · clip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. clip — for paper
  3. root — the cause
  4. cell — in biology
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. clip — a video
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — wild animals
  10. can — a tin
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. can — to be able to
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. game — a match
  24. cell — a phone

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