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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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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — letters
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pop — soda
  7. kid — to tease
  8. staff — employees
  9. kid — child
  10. spell — magic
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — music
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. net — in sport
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. capital — money
  20. staff — a stick
  21. net — for catching
  22. pop — to visit
  23. capital — a city
  24. staff — employees

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