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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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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: wave · scale · dip · field · stick · cell · coach · chest

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — to sink
  4. chest — a box
  5. scale — in music
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. scale — size or range
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in biology
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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