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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: bay · bat · wave · coach · straw · wake · rule · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rule — government
  3. field — for sport
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rule — a law
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. field — farmland
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wake — before a funeral

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