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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: cap · lash · coach · club · dip · field · key · cell

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. field — for sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. dip — to sink
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cell — a phone
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. key — in music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cap — a lid
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cap — of ice
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — a group
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cell — in biology
  22. field — farmland
  23. cap — a hat
  24. field — a subject

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