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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. season — in sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. squash — the sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. row — a line
  18. season — of the year

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