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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 116 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: last · bear · bay · coach · land · field · stand · row

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. last — final
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. field — for sport
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. stand — to bear
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — a subject
  19. last — to go on
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. last — finally
  22. field — farmland
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. stand — for spectators

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