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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: pit · last · rule · mine · racket · coach · field · pound

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pound — a weight
  4. last — to go on
  5. field — a subject
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — finally
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — final
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pit — in a race
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — for sport
  17. rule — a law
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. field — farmland
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rule — government
  24. pit — a hole

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