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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.

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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: fine · field · coach · chest · fall · sharp · straw · root

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chest — a box
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. sharp — clever
  9. root — of a word
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. root — the cause
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — a subject
  18. fine — all right
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. field — farmland
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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